Ooredoo Oman (formerly known as Nawras) has revealed that it has successfully modernised and upgraded 70% of its network across the Sultanate, as part of its extensive ‘turbocharging’ programme that was launched three years ago. In mid-2012 coverage of the Qatari-owned operator’s 3.5G network stood at 53% of the population, but this had increased to 90% as of the end of March 2015. Ooredoo now delivers 3.5G technology through five different carriers, while 4G data services are also expanding rapidly and now cover many areas across Muscat, Salalah, Sohar and Dqum. It adds that the turbocharging programme will continue in a number of cities during 2015, including Manah, Al Hamra, Izki, Adam, Bahla and Nizwa, Al Mudaybi, Dima Wattayeen, Bidiyah, Ibra, Al Qabil, Jaalan Bani Bu Ali, Khasab, Bukha, Qurayyat, Masirah, Hayma, Hallaniyat, Al Jazir and Thumrait.
‘By challenging ourselves, we have boosted our customer experience by introducing state-of-the-art mobile and fixed LTE technologies to the Sultanate,’ commented Hassan Al Lawati, Director of Capability Management at Ooredoo, adding: ‘Our customers will now also be able to enjoy LTE-Advanced, the next generation of 4G technology, in hotspots around Muscat. Work to cover these locations has already started. Having completed testing back in 2014, we demonstrated this new technology in COMEX this year, showcasing download speeds of far more than 200Mbps. This is very exciting for our customers as it opens up a whole new online experience.’