Oman’s Telecom Boom: IoT Soars 72% as Sector Hits New Peaks

Editorial Team

Last updated 24-04-2025

3 min

Oman's telecom sector flourished in 2024, with significant rises in mobile and broadband usage.

Smart device connections surged 72%, driven by the "Internet of Things," reaching 1,15 million.

Telecom revenues increased 4%, with substantial reinvestments in infrastructure, surpassing global averages.

Broadband now reaches 90% of households, and 97% of public schools have high-speed access.

Oman's postal services also grew, with domestic deliveries rising to 3,2 million parcels.

The telecom scene in Oman has been riding high recently, with impressive upswings recorded across the board, according to new figures released by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). The stats paint quite a rosy picture for 2024, highlighting big strides in mobile phone usage, broadband connectivity, and particularly in connected smart devices like IoT gadgets.

In fact, the total number of mobile users climbed to around 7.5 million, marking a notable 7 percent increase from the year before. Home broadband connections crept up as well, with around 573,000 households enjoying speedier internet compared to around 562,000 previously.

The most remarkable jump, though, has been in the uptake of smart device connections, fuelled by the booming "Internet of Things" or IoT devices. We're talking smart metres, connected cars, and fancy gizmos at home that seemed futuristic just a few years ago. Smart device connections soared an eye-watering 72 percent in 2024, hitting 1.15 million—up from just around a quarter of a million five years back. Talk about a tech revolution happening before our eyes.

And it's not just usage that's humming along nicely—money wise, telecom companies brought in revenues of RO 920 million last year, a tidy increase of 4 percent from RO 881 million the year before. They're certainly not shy to reinvest either, pumping about 28 percent of their income back into building better infrastructure. To put that into perspective, that's a fair bit above the global average, which usually ranges between 15 to 20 percent.

Connecting Omanis has been a key mission, and the numbers certainly back up the progress made—an impressive 97 percent of public schools across the country now have access to high-speed broadband. At home, too, things are looking up, with broadband available to 90 percent of households, compared to 85 percent in 2023. Fibre-optic connections got a boost as well; they've jumped from 5,238 last year to 5,856 in 2024, with a noticeable rise in broadband units too, climbing from 737,000 to 841,000 units.

Interestingly, it's not all about digital—Oman's trusty postal system also had plenty to shout about. Domestic deliveries rose significantly, reaching 3.2 million parcels, alongside 437,000 outgoing international items and 3.4 million incoming international shipments. Sales generated by postal companies came to a tidy RO 27.2 million, nudging upwards by 2 percent from the previous year's performance.

Meanwhile, the TRA shared promising Omanisation figures, pointing out a solid commitment to local workforce development—93 percent in telecom companies, 71 percent in postal firms, and 40 percent in service contractors. They've also announced the gradual retirement of the old 3G network, with around 5,600 stations already upgraded to modern tech.

In a move that'll please the tech buffs at places like Arageek, there's word that new frequency bands—2300 MHz and 2600 MHz—have been identified, meaning faster, more reliable mobile data—with plenty of extra juice for all our YouTube binges, no doubt.

It's clear that Oman's telecom sector really hit its stride in 2024, transforming everything from everyday gadget use to broader economic dynamics. Not bad at all for a year's work, eh?

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