Mobile Subscriptions Reach 6.4 Million in Oman

Telecom, IT and Postal Sectors Record Notable Growth in 2024

Muscat: The telecommunications, information technology and postal services sectors in the Sultanate of Oman recorded significant growth during 2024, reflecting continued expansion of digital infrastructure, improved service efficiency and progress in digital transformation.

Statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed that the total number of fixed telephone lines reached 435,500 in 2024. Fixed telephone subscriptions based on Internet Protocol (IP) increased by 7.3 percent.

Household penetration of fixed telephone services stood at 60 percent in 2024, compared to 60.4 percent in 2023. The average monthly usage per fixed subscription declined slightly to 25 minutes, down from 28 minutes in the previous year.

Mobile phone subscriptions rose to 6.4 million in 2024, marking a growth of 0.6 percent compared to 2023. Prepaid subscriptions accounted for 80.5 percent of the total, while postpaid subscriptions represented 19.5 percent. The average monthly mobile usage per subscription reached 106.5 minutes.

In the internet services sector, active mobile broadband subscriptions totaled 5,345,085, while active fixed broadband subscriptions reached 573,189. Household penetration of fixed internet services increased to 78.9 percent in 2024. Average monthly data usage per fixed subscription rose to 576 GB, compared to 564 GB in 2023.

Total international internet capacity reached 3,572,065 Mbps by the end of December 2024, reflecting a 36.7 percent increase over 2023. Opinion polls indicated that 73 percent of beneficiaries expressed overall satisfaction with service providers, while 66 percent rated service quality as consistently excellent.

In the postal sector, total postal traffic reached 7.4 million transactions in 2024, representing a growth of 7.18 percent compared to 2023.

Incoming express mail items totaled 3.2 million, while outgoing express mail items reached 437,000. Local express mail accounted for the largest share with 3,485,629 items, compared to 3,362,110 international incoming items and 437,866 international outgoing items.

Local traditional parcel traffic reached 42,211 parcels, alongside 13,348 international incoming parcels and 4,780 international outgoing parcels.

As for traditional letter traffic, local letters totaled 28,476, while international incoming letters reached 35,142 and international outgoing letters amounted to 6,601 in 2024.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia topped the list of destinations for Omani postal exports, followed by the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar.

Conversely, the United Arab Emirates ranked first among countries exporting postal items to Oman, followed by the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America.