Fixed telephone lines user base rises 15.9 per cent in Oman

Muscat: Total number of fixed telephone lines, including post- and pre-paid, public, WLL, and ISDN channels in Oman registered a growth of 15.9 per cent in 2015.
The fixed telephone line subscriber base stood at 434,932 by the end of 2015, against 375,196 registered at the end of 2014, according to data issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Meanwhile, there has been a 7.3 per cent rise in the number of mobile subscribers (post- and pre-paid) last year, with the number rising to 6,646,674 million, from over 6,194,169 million in 2014.
Among fixed lines, fixed pre-paid (card fixed) telephones witnessed the highest growth at 69.4 per cent, taking the total to 56,021, while post-paid connections rose by nearly 12.9 per cent to 325,083. WLL connections, however, fell by 2.2 per cent to 1,771, while ISDN channels decreased 0.6 per cent to 45,256, last year.
The Sultanate had a total of 6,801 public pay telephones last year, with no change in numbers, compared with the figures for 2014.
The post-paid mobile subscriber base increased by 10.7 per cent to 585,166, even as pre-paid mobile connections grew by 7.0 per cent to over 6.06 million, NCSI data said.
Interestingly, last year, the number of internet subscribers surged 31 per cent to 236,004, primarily due to a 31.7 per cent growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers, which reached 233,233. However, dial-up internet subscriptions fell by 10.1 per cent to 2,771, compared with figures for 2014.
The NCSI data also showed a growth of 12.5 per cent in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers, pushing such subscriptions to over 3,253,949 million in 2015. Apart from this, national leased circuits logged a growth of 1.9 per cent, taking their number to 3,815.
The Governorate of Muscat had the highest number of main telephone lines at 213,105 by the end of 2015, reflecting a growth rate of 14.4 per cent, compared with 2014. The Governorate of Dhofar took the second spot at 33,737, followed by the Governorate of North Al Batinah at 28,113. The Governorate of Al Wusta recorded the least number of main telephone lines at 1,891, even as it logged the highest growth of 65 per cent among the governorates.
Main telephone lines in the Governorate of South Al Batinah posted a growth of 20.6 per cent to 26,568, while the Governorate of South A'Sharqiyah saw an increase of 45.5 per cent to 7,794 lines last year, compared with the prior year. The Governorate of North A'Sharqiyah recorded a growth of 19.5 per cent to 17,846 lines, while the Governorate of A'Dhahirah registered a 25.8 per cent jump in main telephone lines, taking the total number to 10,837.