Oman Records Strong Growth in Telecommunications and Postal Sectors in 2024

Muscat, The Gulf Observer: The telecommunications, information technology, and postal services sectors in the Sultanate of Oman posted notable growth in 2024, reflecting accelerated digital infrastructure development, enhanced service efficiency, and continued support for national digital transformation goals.

According to statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information, the total number of fixed telephone lines reached 435,500 in 2024, while fixed telephone subscriptions based on Internet Protocol (IP) grew by 7.3 percent. The proportion of households with a fixed telephone stood at 60 percent in 2024, slightly down from 60.4 percent in 2023. Average monthly usage per subscription declined to 25 minutes, compared to 28 minutes the previous year.

Mobile services continued to expand, with total subscriptions rising to 6.4 million in 2024, representing a 0.6 percent increase over 2023. Prepaid lines accounted for 80.5 percent of subscriptions, while postpaid services comprised 19.5 percent. The average monthly mobile usage per subscription reached 106.5 minutes.

In the internet services segment, active mobile broadband subscriptions totaled 5,345,085, while fixed broadband subscriptions reached 573,189. Household penetration of fixed internet services climbed to 78.9 percent in 2024, with average monthly data usage per subscription increasing to 576 GB, up from 564 GB in 2023. International internet capacity rose significantly to 3,572,065 Mbps by the end of December 2024, marking a 36.7 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Public opinion surveys indicated that 73 percent of beneficiaries expressed overall satisfaction with services provided by operators, while 66 percent rated service quality as consistently excellent.

The postal sector also recorded steady growth. Total postal traffic in Oman reached 7.4 million transactions in 2024, up 7.18 percent from 2023. Incoming express mail items totaled 3.2 million, while outgoing express mail reached 437,000 items. Local express mail accounted for the largest share at 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. Traditional letter traffic included 28,476 local letters, 35,142 international incoming letters, and 6,601 international outgoing letters during 2024.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ranked first among destinations for Omani postal exports, followed by the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar. Conversely, the United Arab Emirates was the leading source of postal imports to Oman, followed by the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America.