450 villages to get Internet

Some 325 stations will be built to provide Internet services in 450 villages in the sultanate, said a senior official of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).

Omar bin Abdullah al Qatbi, senior executive manager, Telecom Regulatory Sector, TRA, said they also coordinated with the Ministry of Social Development to get the actual number of social security families, and accordingly telecommunications companies have come up with offers for devices and Internet packages for them.

Offers range from RO90 to RO500 and can be paid in 12-month instalments.

Qatbi said there is a plan by the government to provide broadband services in all the regions of the sultanate. 

“We emphasise here that the most important goal of the authority is to provide telecommunications services throughout the sultanate. More than 98 per cent of places in the sultanate have network services.”

Recently, a monetary package was assigned by the government to cover rural areas via satellite.