Muscat: The TRA-Oman has issued a 12-point plan as part of the measures to safeguard connectivity during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In line with the efforts taken by the Sultanate to prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), TRA Oman has taken a number of measures to ensure the continuity of the telecom services and avoid network congestion due to increased demand”, it said in a statement.
Accordingly, the TRA is offering an opportunity for the licensees to use additional frequency bands without obtaining a radio license during this period if necessary.
“It will allow them to use the planned frequencies required for “delivering services or connect the base stations”, it said.
Following are the other measures:
- To coordinate with the licensees to ensure the business continuity for the provision of telecommunications services and maintain its quality during the current circumstances and apply succession planning if required.
- To provide free distance learning facility in cooperation with the Ministry of Education to all educational institutions with websites ending with (edu.om) in order to spare parents and students from any extra financial burdens.
- To urge the licensed telecom operators to review the prices of their packages and to introduce incentive offers to enable nationals and residents to achieve the maximum possible benefits from the telecommunications services during this emergency case.
- To ensure an easy access to networks from multiple points through several access points from different areas.
- To allow the licensees to provide telecommunications services by activating the wireless broadband service through WFBB-LTE-FDD using the 4G frequencies that were temporarily licensed for the mobile telecommunications services.
- To instruct the licensees to take all the preventative measures within the environment of business companies to curb the spread of the Coronavirus and protect their employees against infection.
- To allow the use of certain VoIP applications such as Skype for Business, Google Meet, Zoom and WebEX.
- To encourage the licensees to operate the National Roaming Facility whenever necessary.
- To offer an opportunity for the licensees to use additional frequency bands without obtaining radio license during this period if necessary and allow them to use the planned frequencies required for delivering services or connect the base stations.
- Offer to the licensed companies to assign them additional spectrum, especially in the C-band, to improve the quality of service and mitigate the pressure on the telecommunication networks if they wish.
- To Guide Telecom companies to find mechanisms and means to ensure the continuity of service and avoid termination of service to any services or small businesses in case of inability to pay due to COVID-19 disruption and communicate alternatives and available payment mechanisms.
- To forbear the approval requirements for such offers for the existing customers of licensees during this emergency period.
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