Nawras signs up 300,000 customers in a year

Nawras Telecom, the second mobile licensee in Oman, celebrated its first birthday on 16 March, revealing that it had signed up a total of 300,000 subscribers, up from 244,000 at the end of 2005. Nawras was set up as a joint venture between Qatar Telecom (Qtel) and Denmark’s TDC after the fair won a GSM licence in a June 2004 auction, beating 27 rival bidders for the 15-year concession. It claimed around 15% of the wireless market at the end of 2005, with Oman Mobile Telecommunications Company (OMTC) taking the remainder. Nawras said it will continue expanding its network across the country during 2006; its network currently has coverage of 80% of the population.