TRA grants new licence to provide VoIP services

BUSINESS REPORTER

MUSCAT, APRIL 16

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) granted a new licence to Oman Data Park (ODP) to provide voice or video telecommunication services over Internet protocol (VoIP), which contributes to expand the base of services provided via Internet Protocol in the Sultanate of Oman.

This service is considered as a qualitative addition to the telecommunications sector, while the new license reflects the confidence enjoyed by Oman Data Park in the effective contribution to the development of information and communication technology in Oman.

The issuance of the licence is based on the Telecommunications Regulatory Law which is in force in the Sultanate of Oman, and its executive regulations, issued by the Ministerial decision No 144/2008.

In accordance with this approval, ODP will work to contribute to enhance the benefit of users of the telecommunications sector in the Sultanate of Oman from the technology of voice transmission, sending and receiving phone calls over the Internet Protocol (VoIP) instead of transmitting it via the landline telephone network.

The technology of transmitting voice and receiving calls over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has many advantages such as the feature of transferring calls to smart phones or computers, in addition to dial international calls and a lot of professional communication via the Internet such as video chats, chatting and sharing files that become more flexible when using such technology, while ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of user data.

The new technology works by digitally transmitting information via a high-speed Internet connection by converting audio signals from the phone to a digital one via the Internet, based on what is known as PST packet switching technology, which divides digital signals into small packets of data to be transmitted over the Internet in order to dial and receive audio calls.

Commenting on this subject, Eng Maqbool al Wahaibi, CEO of Oman Data Park, said, "Our obtaining of this license confirms our company's readiness to provide this type of advanced services at a time when the Sultanate of Oman is keen to keep abreast of the latest developments to take advantage of all the latest and useful in Internet protocol technologies.”

Al Wahaibi added, "Oman Data Park's capabilities in providing UCaaS service, which relies on voice and video communications over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in cooperation with Cisco, and its Nebula-Collaboration service, makes it more capable in dealing with customers of Big data that require VoIP, PBX and video conferencing systems by adopting a flexible approach.

This government approval of our provision of voice or video communication service over Internet Protocol, reinforces our conviction that cloud services for telephony are capable to open a new horizon for communication and enabling people to work from anywhere via IP telephony for voice calls , Web conferencing, video, voicemail, mobility, desktop sharing, instant messaging, presence,and more."

Al Wahaibi emphasized that the capabilities of Oman Data Park help the broad base of its customers, where Nebula-Collaboration provides a seamless recording of calls across a variety of devices, and support for questions and answers for meetings and sharing files between users, which creates an environment work very similar to that of real work. In addition, Nebula-collaboration video conferencing is very convenient for catching up with friends’ family and business, video conferencing is especially useful for organizations that need to communicate with other branches, remote employees, or business connections across various locales in lieu of an in-person meeting. At its core, video conferencing is communication between two or more people through the use of cameras, microphones, monitors and speakers that supported via IP phones, desktops and smart phones.