Omantel confirms that 4G rollout is progressing as planned

Oman’s incumbent telecom operator, Omantel, has revealed that its Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G mobile network now covers 37 wilayats or provinces across eleven governorates, and most of the capital, Muscat, via 400 active LTE base stations, Eurotrade reports. Abdullah al Hamer, general manager of network planning and design at Omantel, commented: ‘Our build follows the plans, and we are proud to announce that our 4G LTE network is now covering areas in the governorates of Muscat, South and North Batinah, Dhofar, Musandam, Buraimi, Dhahirah, Dakilyiah, South and North Sharqiyah, and Wusta.’ He added that many areas of the country’s second city Salalah have also been covered in preparation for the annual Khareef festival in August. In late-April 2013, Mohsin Ayish Sultan Alhashmi, manager (fixed access design) at Omantel, told TeleGeography that the operator was planning to roll out an additional 400-500 LTE base stations by the end of the year (for an end-year total of 800-900 4G cell sites), supported by its national fibre backbone reach, under a dual strategy to satisfy demand for both 4G mobile broadband and Omantel’s recently launched consumer fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) services.