Oman’s second mobile operator Nawras, majority-owned by Qatar Telecom (Qtel), is to
‘soft-launch’ 3.5G HSDPA services in Oman ‘imminently’, reports the Times of Oman. The free trial will involve employees and customers living between the Muscat districts of Qurum and Al Athaiba and will last two months, after which a commercial service is set to be launched across Muscat and in the Port of Sohar. Nawras CEO Ross Cormack said, ‘Nawras is continuing to change the telecommunications landscape in Oman and will be the first mobile operator in the Sultanate to offer customers services based on the 3.5G technology. The new services will be supported by the reliable Nawras network and we are looking forward to offering both consumers and business customers the most innovative services and the latest technology offered anywhere in the world.’ According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, Nawras ended the first half of 2007 with 787,000 subscribers, giving it a 38% market share. The remainder was taken by incumbent Oman Mobile.