MUSCAT : According to statistics issued by the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the sector witnessed notable expansion across fixed and mobile telecommunications, broadband services, and postal operations.
The total number of fixed telephone lines reached 435,500 in 2024. Fixed telephone subscriptions based on Internet Protocol (IP) recorded a growth rate of 7.3 percent, indicating a gradual shift toward more advanced communication technologies.
The percentage of households owning a landline telephone stood at 60 percent in 2024, slightly down from 60.4 percent in 2023. Average monthly usage per fixed-line subscription declined to 25 minutes, compared to 28 minutes the previous year.
Mobile phone services continued to dominate the market. Total mobile subscriptions rose to 6.4 million, marking a 0.6 percent increase compared to 2023. Prepaid subscriptions accounted for 80.5 percent of total mobile lines, while postpaid subscriptions made up 19.5 percent. The average monthly mobile usage reached 106.5 minutes per subscription.
Internet connectivity showed significant momentum. Active mobile broadband subscriptions reached 5,345,085, while fixed broadband subscriptions stood at 573,189.
Household penetration of fixed internet services climbed to 78.9 percent in 2024. Meanwhile, average monthly data usage per fixed broadband subscription rose to 576 gigabytes, up from 564 gigabytes in 2023, reflecting increased digital consumption.
In a major boost to digital infrastructure, total international internet capacity reached 3,572,065 megabits per second by the end of December 2024, a substantial 36.7 percent increase compared to 2023.
Survey findings also highlighted customer sentiment, with 73 percent of beneficiaries expressing overall satisfaction with services provided, and 66 percent describing service quality as consistently excellent.
The postal sector recorded solid growth, with total postal traffic reaching 7.4 million transactions in 2024, a 7.18 percent increase compared to 2023.
Incoming express mail items totaled 3.2 million, while outgoing express mail reached 437,000 items. Domestic express mail accounted for the largest share, with 3,485,629 parcels, followed by 3,362,110 incoming international parcels and 437,866 outgoing international parcels.
Traditional postal parcel traffic included 42,211 domestic parcels, 13,348 incoming international parcels, and 4,780 outgoing international parcels.
As for traditional postal messages, 28,476 local messages were recorded, alongside 35,142 incoming international messages and 6,601 outgoing international messages during 2024.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia topped the list of countries receiving postal exports from Oman, followed by the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar. Conversely, the United Arab Emirates ranked first among countries exporting postal imports to Oman, followed by the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America.
Oman's broadband usage per household surged to 576GB, with a 36.7% increase in international internet capacity. The telecom sector saw growth in both fixed and mobile services, while postal operations expanded with 7.4 million transactions. Customer satisfaction remained high, with 73% expressing contentment with the services provided.