Oman Broadband covers 500K housing units with fibre optic

Oman Broadband Company’s (OBC) networks now cover around 400,000 housing units across the Governorates of the Sultanate, will connections provided to around 86,300 housing units. The latter figure includes 81,600 housing units in Muscat, 2,500 in North and South Al Batinah Governorates, 1,800 in Dhofar Governorate and 400 in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate.

The company also signed several agreements with some real estate developers to spread the network, such as WUJHA Real Estate Company, Dar Al Zain Company, Assas Company and Bahwan Engineering Company.

‘The efforts are still ongoing to open new areas in the last quarter this year. Some areas in Al Batinah North Governorate will be opened this year. Approximately 8,438 housing units will be opened. Some parts will also be opened in Muscat and Dhofar governorates with an average of 39,586 housing units in Muscat and 29,931 in Dhofar”, said Said bin Abdullah al Mantheri, CEO of Oman Broadband Company.

Recently, the company launched its fibre optic network in Al Jabal Al Akhdhar to provide high-speed Internet to the residents and visitors of the governorate. The project was implemented in conjunction with the extension of the water network in Al Jabal Al Akhdhar by the Public Authority for Water to unify efforts and reduce costs and time.

The company has covered approximately 4,581 residential units throughout the governorate, which are now ready to request service through one of the licensed service providers in the Sultanate (Omantel, Ooredoo and Awasser). The project was implemented in 10 months due to the nature of the area and the difficulty of its topography.

The project is one of the most important achievements of the company because the network in Al Jabal Al Akhdhar was also connected to Muscat to link the establishments in Muscat with the establishments in Al Jabal Al Akhdhar — one of the tourist destinations for Omanis and foreign tourists. The presence of the optical fibre network will contribute to the revitalisation and activation of tourist and commercial activity in the governorate. Oman Boradband has been entrusted with building the fibre optic infrastructure and leasing it to the three operators Omantel, Ooredoo, and Awaser. This has contributed significantly to the speed of the Internet and lower prices in the areas covered by the network. So far, the company has covered 54 per cent of urban areas and will cover 95 per cent of them by 2030 to achieve the national broadband strategy.

Muscat Governorate: The company has connected approximately 81,600 housing units in Muscat Governorate in the wilayats of Seeb, Bausher, Al Amerat, Muttrah from 2015 until mid-2019. Efforts are continuing in the last quarter of this year to cover areas in Bausher, Maabela, Qurum and Al Ansab, about 45,000 housing unit to help users enjoy high-speed Internet.

South and North Al Batinah Governorate: Approximately 2,500 housing units have been connected in the South and North Al Batinah Governorate, specifically in Sohar. The project was implemented in cooperation with Haya Water Company, in order to maximise the utilisation of infrastructure projects and unify efforts to reduce cost and time. Efforts are continuing with the aim of inaugurating some new areas in North Al Batinah Governorate, specifically in Sohar, with an average of 8,438 housing units. Work is also continuing in the wilayat of Al Awabi in South Al Batinah to connect approximately 11,000 housing units.

Dhofar Governorate: As part of the efforts to spread the network in the south of the Sultanate, the company signed several agreements with some government authorities in Salalah, such as Salalah Sewerage Company, Dhofar Municipality and Salalah Free Zone, which facilitated the construction of the network. About 1,800 housing units were connected in Dhofar, new Salalah, Al Saadah and Raysut. Efforts are underway to cover the remaining parts of new Salalah and East Salalah with an average of 17,000 housing units to be ready before the end of this year.

Al Dakhiliyah Governorate: Approximately 400 housing units were connected mostly in Al Jabal Al Akhdar. Efforts are underway to cover some parts of Nizwa, such as Farq and Hay Al Turath, with an average of 16,000 housing units. The residents will enjoy high quality fibre optic network which will help users chose the best from among the three operators.