MUSCAT: Oman will be spending OMR450 million over the next 10 years to improve telecommunication services in all governorates as it believes economic progress is linked with technological development, according to officials.
Technology touches people’s everyday lives and is essential for economic development, so the Sultanate is developing the infrastructure in this field, Salim Sultan Al Ruzaiqi, chief executive officer of Oman’s Information Technology Authority (ITA), said.
He made the comment after inaugurating the seventh edition of the FTTH (fibre-to-the-home) Council Mena (Middle East and North Africa) Conference, attended by Ahmed Al Futaisi, minister of transport and communications, and a number of other officials and experts at Grand Hyatt Hotel.
The FTTH Council Mena is an industry organisation with a mission to accelerate the adoption of FTTH adoption by all broadband stakeholders through information and promotion, in order to accelerate the availability of fibre-based, ultra-high-speed access networks to consumers and businesses.
Al Ruzaiqi said that the digital Oman strategy is being carried out with a focus on the development of social information, e-government, economy and infrastructure as well as the continuity of the developments.
He also noted that according to the United Nations (UN) e-government survey 2014, Oman has improved in the global ranking and stands at the 48th place in terms of e-readiness.
It was mentioned in the conference that some studies show for each 10 percent increase in broadband penetration, GDP increases by 1 per cent.
