The continuing strength and potential of one of the Middle East's leading telecommunications groups, Qatar Telecom QSC (Qtel) was demonstrated this week when its Nawras consortium was named as the successful applicant for the license for the Class One Full Fixed Public Telecommunications Services in Oman. Nawras, which is the Oman-based affiliate of Qtel, has been operating in the Sultanate since 2005 as the second operator, providing a range of mobile services. With the fixed services license, it is now positioned to offer a full portfolio of telecommunication and Internet products. The award of the fixed line license has long been seen as a key milestone for Oman's liberalization policy for the telecommunications sector, and - through its success in a closely-fought competitive process - Qtel has again demonstrated its technological and operational capacity in diverse and challenging markets. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani, chairman of Qtel, said: “This is another important step forward for the Qtel Group, as we continue to expand internationally and deepen our service offering for businesses and consumers. We are confident that Nawras will bring the same level of innovation and value to the Omani fixed line market that it has to the mobile sector, and that the increased choice will benefit everyone in Oman.” “Qtel would like to commend the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Oman for the diligence and transparency of the award process, and we make a promise today that we will focus our expertise and market knowledge to deliver the highest possible quality of service to the Sultanate,” he added. Since its launch in 2005, Nawras has won more than 1.4 million customers. It was the first operator in the Sultanate to launch 3G+ services and has begun to develop a country-wide fibre optical infrastructure that will provide state-of-the-art services. Nawras CEO Ross Cormack said: “The whole company will work together to support the Sultanate's bold vision for delivering the highest possible standard of communications and we are well positioned to leverage Qtel's growing international expertise.”
