Telecoms & IT

Major investment in the telecoms and IT sector from both the public and private sectors has expanded coverage in Oman, with the number of pre-paid mobile subscribers reaching 5.37m in the first half of 2014. The government has recognised the potential of a vibrant IT sector and in line with its objective to diversify the economy away from hydrocarbons has marked the development of the sector as a key part of the Vision 2020 strategy. In an effort to transition many of its services online as part of its e-government initiative, the government had, as of September 2014, trained 90,000 employees in IT skills and awareness. Meanwhile, the Information Technology Authority (ITA) has adopted an incubation approach with efforts to encourage funding of IT start-ups from banks, venture capital funds and others while government guarantees regarding protection of IP rights in the sultanate are expected to attract further investment from international companies. This chapter contains an interview with Salim Sultan Al Razaiqi, CEO, Information Technology Authority.