The telecom sector witnessed a growth of seven per cent last year, generating a total revenue of RO803.544mn as compared to RO749.252mn in 2013.
Revenue generated from mobile services made up for the major portion of the earnings - 76 per cent, while the remaining was contributed by fixed and Internet services.
Investments in the sector also grew by 40 per cent over 2013, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority's (TRA) Annual Report 2014. Total telecom investment grew from RO156.5mn in 2013 to RO219.71mn last year.
The composition of investment in mobile, fixed and fixed broadband networks was 62 per cent, 29 per cent and eight per cent respectively, stated the report. According to the report, the average revenue per mobile subscribers rose from RO7.6 in 2013 to RO10.8 in 2014.
However, the average revenue per unit (ARPU) from fixed services experienced constant reduction reaching RO6.1 in 2014 from RO7.1 in 2013, RO8.8 in 2012 and RO13.9 in 2011. ARPU for fixed Internet services reached RO35.5 with 24 per cent increase during 2014 from RO28.6 in 2013. The number of mobile subscribers reached 6.194mn by the end of 2014 from 5.617mn in 2013, an increase of 577,000 subscribers.
The mobile penetration rate remained constant at 155 per cent during 2013 and 2014. "Even though mobile subscriptions were steadily growing during the last five years, the drop in the mobile penetration rate in years 2012 and 2013 was due to re-evaluation of population estimates. "From 173 per cent in 2011 it dropped to 160 per cent in 2012 and to 155 per cent in 2013," the report said.
It remained the same during 2014. Prepaid mobile represented 91.5 per cent of the total mobile subscriptions with 5.665mn subscribers, while post-paid mobile subscribers reached 529,000 by end of 2014. Oman mobile had 47 per cent of the market share, while Ooredoo and mobile resellers possessed 41 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.
TRA has said in the report that the telecom sector contributes to the general economy through the payment of royalty it receives at seven per cent on gross revenues, which is transferred in full to the Ministry of Finance after collection by TRA.
Total royalty collected from active licencees for the year 2014 was RO47,674,369.435, accruing to six per cent increase in the royalty collected in 2013, where more than 98 per cent came from Class I licencees. Additionally, TRA collected RO3.1mn in arrear royalties from Ooredoo for the years 2005-2011 in 2014.