Omani fixed line licence win caps hugely successful year for Qtel Group

Nawras, which is the Oman-based affiliate of Qtel, has been operating in the Sultanate since 2005 as the second operator, providing a range of mobile services. With the fixed services license, it is now positioned to offer a full portfolio of telecommunication and internet products.

The award of the fixed line licence has long been seen as a key milestone for Oman's liberalization policy for the telecommunications sector, and - through its success in a closely-fought competitive process - Qtel has again demonstrated its technological and operational capacity in diverse and challenging markets.

His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani, Chairman of Qtel, said: "This is another important step forward for the Qtel Group, as we continue to expand internationally and deepen our service offering for businesses and consumers. We are confident that Nawras will bring the same level of innovation and value to the Omani fixed line market that it has to the mobile sector, and that the increased choice will benefit everyone in Oman."

"Qtel would like to commend the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Oman for the diligence and transparency of the award process, and we make a promise today that we will focus our expertise and market knowledge to deliver the highest possible quality of service to the Sultanate,"

he added.

Since its launch in 2005, Nawras has won more than 1.4 million customers. It was the first operator in the Sultanate to launch 3G+ services and has begun to develop a country-wide fibre optical infrastructure that will provide state-of-the-art services.

Nawras CEO Ross Cormack said: "We are very proud to have been chosen as the new provider of fixed line services for the people of Oman. The whole company will work together to support the Sultanate's bold vision for delivering the highest possible standard of communications and we are well positioned to leverage Qtel's growing international expertise in developing and deploying fixed line and broadband services."

The award of the fixed line license is another key milestone in Qtel's 2020 vision, to become one of the world's top 20 telecommunications companies within the next 12 years. Already in 2008, Qtel has successfully completed its $1.8bn acquisition of 40.81% of PT Indosat Tbk ("Indosat"), taking the company into the world's fourth most populous market. A later clarification from the Indonesian authorities indicated that Qtel's ownership of shares in Indosat will be permitted up to 65% and Qtel has announced that it will shortly launch the requisite tender offer.

In addition, the Wataniya Telecom operation has been awarded a spectrum license by the Palestinian Ministry for Telecommunication, enabling its further development in that market.

Earlier this month, the Qtel board recommend the distribution of a cash dividend of 100% of the nominal value per share, in acknowledgement of the strong support for its growth strategy provided by its shareholders.