MUSCAT: Oman’s postpaid mobile phone subscriptions surged by 33.9% by the end of December 2024, reaching 2,391,951, according to the latest data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Meanwhile, prepaid mobile subscriptions declined by 1.6% to 5,114,919. Despite this drop, the total number of mobile subscriptions—including both postpaid and prepaid—rose by 7.5% year-on-year to 7,506,870. This included 3,889,244 subscriptions from operators and 1,225,675 from resale services.
Mobile broadband usage remained strong, with active subscriptions reaching 6,455,261. Fixed internet services also grew, with subscriptions increasing by 2% to 574,730. Among these, fixed broadband connections (above 256 kilobytes per second) reached 573,028, while low-speed internet subscriptions (below 256 kilobytes per second) stood at 1,702.
Fixed-line subscriptions saw a sharp decline, dropping 24.8% to 435,596. Analogue fixed-line connections, including both prepaid and postpaid, fell by 20.9% to 66,834. In contrast, Internet Protocol (IP) fixed-line subscriptions grew by 7.4% to 318,478.
Other telecom indicators showed mixed trends. Subscriptions to integrated digital network services declined by 0.2% to 49,634, while public telephone booths decreased significantly by 98.1% to just 127. Fixed wireless subscriptions also fell by 25.6% to 523.
By region, Muscat Governorate accounted for the largest share of fixed analogue telephone lines (49.63%), followed by North Al Batinah (11.46%) and Dhofar (10.03%). The remaining governorates collectively accounted for 28.88%. — ONA
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