Second time lucky: PCCW-Awaser consortium awarded fixed line licence

A consortium of Hong Kong’s PCCW International and local firm Awaser Oman has been awarded a fixed line telecoms licence for the greater Muscat area by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). Reuters reports that the 25-year licence will enable the consortium to establish and operate a fixed line voice and data network in the Governorate of Muscat, home to around a quarter of the Sultanate’s population. The consortium will join incumbent Oman Telecommunications (Omantel) and Omani Qatari Telecommunications Company (Nawras), a subsidiary of Qatar Telecom (Qtel) in the market. As noted in TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, PCCW-Awaser Oman Consortium was announced as the highest bidder for the country’s second Class I fixed line concession in October 2008, but the licence was subsequently handed to Nawras, allegedly because the consortium failed to fulfill certain obligations.