Muscat: This growth marked a 3.8% increase compared to the same period in 2023, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The lion’s share of these subscriptions came from prepaid mobile lines, totaling 5.05 million, while postpaid subscriptions accounted for 2.2 million.

Meanwhile, fixed-line services in the Sultanate experienced a notable dip, with subscriptions falling by 25% year-on-year to 436.8 thousand lines. Among these, Internet Protocol (IP) technology fixed-lines led the pack at 323 thousand subscriptions, followed by analogue lines (both prepaid and postpaid) at 63.5 thousand. Muscat Governorate dominated the fixed-line market with 49.3% of subscriptions, followed by Dhofar (10.3%), North Al Batinah (2.6%), and the remaining governorates collectively accounting for 37.8%.

Fixed Internet services, however, saw an upward trend, reaching 581,033 subscribers by November 2024, a 2.9% increase from the previous year. Of these, 579.3 thousand subscribed to broadband services exceeding 256 kilobits per second, while low-speed internet subscriptions (less than 256 kilobits per second) remained marginal at 1.7 thousand.

Mobile broadband services also flourished, with 5.76 million active subscriptions recorded, underscoring the growing reliance on high-speed internet connectivity in the Sultanate. The total international internet capacity surged to 3.57 million megabits, while leased local circuits stood at 5.4 thousand.