Omantel in talks with Haya Water to rent fibre-optic cables

Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel), the country’s incumbent telecoms operator, has entered into negotiations with Haya Water and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) to lease fibre-optic cables from the utilities firm in Muscat governorate, reports Times of Oman. ‘Instead of investing in fibre-optic cable, we want to rent it from Haya,’ Samy al Ghassany, Omantel’s chief operating officer, told reporters, adding: ‘There is a discussion between Haya Water, TRA and Omantel. We have not reached an agreement on prices and we are not in a hurry. Haya has completed the infrastructure work and are in the process of taking employees and a chief executive officer for the newly formed broadband company.’ Al Ghassany said that in areas outside of Muscat, Omantel plans to rollout its own fibre-optic cable infrastructure.