Sultanate of Oman:

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Sultanate of Oman Summary paper on Role of Sci
ence and Technology in Meeting Millennium
Development Goals Achievements Challenges
8th Session of the commission on Science and Tec
hnology for Development Geneva 23-27 May 2005
By Eng. Mohammed Al-Ghassani Executive Vice Pres
ident The Public Establishment for Industrial Est
ates PEIE malghassani_at_kom.om
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Overview of Oman
Oman Telecommunications Infrastructure
Projects
Privatization
Way Forward
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Sultanate of Oman (fact sheet)
Capital Muscat Area 309,500 sqm Populati
on 2.3 million GDP (at market price) OMR 8,3
42.8 mi
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Knowledge Based Economy Omans vision for the yea
r 2020 is to depend less on oil and moving
towards diversifying the sultanate economy, the
government has formulated a road map identified
the following fundamental goals

• To develop and upgrade Omani Human Resources in
  order to cope with technological progress and
  attain international competitiveness.
  
• To develop a private sector capable of optimum
  use of Human and Natural resources in an
  efficient and ecologically sound way, in close
  collaboration with the government.
• To utilize the geo-strategic location of the
  Sultanate, optimize the use of its natural
  resources and promote economic diversification.
  
• To distribute the fruits of development among all
  regions and all citizens.
  
• To preserve, safeguard and develop the
  achievements accomplished in the past twenty-
  five years.

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Total GDP Contribution It is expected by the year
2020 for the contribution of oil to drop to 9
compared to 33.5 in 1995. The following table
shows different sectors contribution over the
period 1995-2020
Oman Future Vision Year 2020 - of GDP
Sector 2000 2020 Oil 47.5 9.0 Gas 1.3
10.0 Agriculture/Fish 2.0 5.1 Manufacturin
g 5.4 15.0 Trade 10.6 15.0 Tourism
0.7 5.0 Others 22.5 40.9 Total
100 100
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Telecommunications Infrastructure
The telecommunication sector has changed
dramatically over the past few years. This is a
result of the of new services such as cellular
phone network, Global System for Mobile (GSM),
Internet dial-up account, and broadband Internet.
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Telecommunications Infrastructure
Rural areas still pose a challenge for
telecommunication providers however, the
introduction of new services will narrow the gap
between rural and urban areas. Omantel is in the
process of executing a number of projects

• New 21,000 lines via Wireless Local Loop.
• 153kb of data BW per subscriber
• DVP/IP Broadband over V-sat

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• New Internet Services
• Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line ADSL
  (broadband network) 20,000 lines were launched in
  December 2004
  
• Ibhar Services (Wireless Hot Spots) wireless hot
  spots covering most of Governorate of Muscat.

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Digital Oman Strategy The aim is to utilize Infor
mation Communication Technology ICT to provide
collaborative services for the public and private
sectors and citizens through an electronic means.
This will help Oman to move forward towards a
knowledge-based economy.

• Streamlining Government services to citizens and
  business
  
• Enabling knowledge-based industries
• Supporting a better competitive environment
• Providing employment for Omani youth
• Enabling better healthcare
• Improving educational opportunities
• Supporting tourism
• Enhancing social development
• Complementing vision 2020 objectives
• Making Oman a more attractive destination for
  foreign investment

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Wireless Hot Spots (Ibhar) Omantel, the country
s sole Internet Service Provider (ISP),
introduced in the Q2 2005 wireless hot spots
services. This service was open to public trial
during COMEX 2005 - Omans annual ICT exhibition
- April 2005. Users will be able to access the In
ternet at high speed at designated locations
across Muscat using their Wi Fi laptops or other
communication devices. This service is aimed at b
usiness people and students as the first phase
covers all hotels such as Al Bustan Palce,
Intercontinental, The Chedi and many more. It
also covers shopping malls such as Al-Araimi
Complex and Capital Commercial Center and others.
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Smart ID cards The Sultanate has taken a region
al lead with the introduction of a digital
identification card, the first in the Middle
East. Royal Oman Police launched this project
with the following objectives

• Modernize the National Registry System
• Simplify and speed up administrative processes
• Provide better qualitative public services to
  Omani citizens and residents
  
• Pave the way for e-Government services
• Strengthen citizens' identification security

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Smart ID card The ID card program will bring adva
ntages such as

• Improved Security
• Clean population database
• Streamlined administration
• Enhanced services to citizens
• Reduced identity fraud
• Enabler of e-Government applications
• Strengthen IT infrastructure
• Durable and versatile identification documents

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E-Legislation The legal framework supporting comm
ercial transactions on the Internet should be
governed by consistent principles across
national, and international borders that lead to
predictable results regardless of the
jurisdiction in which a particular buyer or
receiver of services, or seller or service
provider resides According to Omans I.T. strat
egy e-Legislation which is expected to be ready
by end of 2005 will also cover other key areas,
such as

• Authentication Law
• Open Records Law
• Procurement Laws
• Privacy Law
• E-Payment Law
• Liability Law
• Jurisdiction

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One Stop Shop (OSS) OSS is an e-Government init
iative to provide on-line company registration
facilities through the Ministry of Commerce and
Industry (MOCI). The project was awarded on a
Boot model and System Requirements Specification
(SRS) is being carried out. This is expected to
benefit Omans business community and attract
future Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
CR Number Database would be used for identifying
companies for e-Government services. Six
government ministries participating in the OSS,
these includes

• Ministry Of Commerce and Industry (MOCI)
• Royal Oman Police (ROP) Civil Defense and
  Immigration
  
• Ministry of Manpower
• Muscat Municipality
• Oman Chamber of Commerce (OCCI)
• Ministry of Environment

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Digital Oman (DO) Digital Oman (DO) is a full-col
or quarterly, bilingual, information
communication technology magazine published by
the Oman Establishment for Press, News,
Publication and Advertising (OEPNPA) in
co-operation with the Technology Technical
Secretariat (ITTS) at the Ministry of National
Economy and Oman's newly-launched Technology
Park, Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM).
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E-Learning The Ministry of Education is developin
g a wireless network to cover more then 400 basic
schools across the Sultanate.
This will enable teachers and students to share
and access information over a more secure
wireless area network.
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Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) - www.kom.om is a
public-private sector-led technology park that is
situated on a 68 hectare eco-friendly site
located 32 kilometres from Muscat, and on the
doorstep of Rusayl Industrial Estate and Sultan
Qaboos University The Parks mission covers a
variety of interdependent areas that revolve
around the high-tech, knowledge-based firm and
entrepreneur

• Help create, promote and develop Oman as a
  robust, diverse, prosperous and self-sustaining
  knowledge-driven economy.
  
• Attract knowledge and technology-driven SMEs.
• Provide world-class ICT facilities and support
  services for knowledge and technology-dependent
  businesses.
  
• Establish an incubator environment where start-up
  businesses can be nurtured. (The Knowledge Mine)
  
• Stimulate an increased rate of interaction
  between Oman-based tertiary institutes and
  knowledge and technology-driven businesses - to
  the benefit of both.
• Act as a network and gateway medium, ensuring
  that information is channelled from a wide
  variety of national and international sources to
  KOM-based companies.

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Health Care System The Ministry of Health has a t
aken a major decision to digitalize its
processes. This plan will be rolled out in stages
starting with the networking of locations across
Oman, this includes 47 hospitals, 135 clinics
and health centers and other general directorates
and regional directorate.
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Privatization Applying Oman 2020 Vision and compl
ying with WTO policies, Oman has initiated the
opening up and privatization of the domestic
telecommunication sector. Given the economical
social importance of the telecommunications
sector, His Majesty the Sultan issued a royal
decree to establish a Telecommunication
Regulatory Authority (TRA)
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• Telecommunication Privatization The case of
  Oman Mobile Versus Nawras
  
• What are customers looking for?
• Quality of Service
• Different package plans

VS
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The Way Forward The initiatives taken by the gov
ernment to promote productivity, innovation and
entrepreneurship competitiveness through
diversification of the economy and privatization
indicates that Oman is fully embracing the
concept of a knowledge and information-led
economy.
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• Telecommunications Infrastructure
• Rising PC penetration the down curve in the
  pricing of PCs is encouraging more and more
  people to purchase their own hardware.
  
• Re-engineering government and businesses
  processes to deliver more services online.
  
• Launching a government Wide Area Network
  interlinking government agencies into one network
  to expedite government processes and set the
  ground for a more transparent environment.
• Introducing e-Payment gateways in collaboration
  with local banks.

Political/Regulatory Environment
Creating the legal 2005 framework for
e-Commerce this is expected to be ready by end
of 2005 and will encourage private sector
companies as well as internationally to introduce
more services for the nationals through the
Internet.
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• Marketing Environment
• Foster economic growth attracting foreign
  investment to set-up businesses in Omans first
  Technology Park Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM).
  
• Encouraging entrepreneurship amongst youth and
  setting up an environment to create the next
  generation of business people
  
• Raising the awareness of the importance of online
  services.
  
• Promoting broadband services.

• Readiness, Uptake Use
• Increase ICT businesses
• Increase the number of household and businesses
  with broadband services
  
• Launch an integrated Government Transactional
  Portal
  
• Increase the number of government services
  online
  
• Increase the number of citizens using
  e-Government services

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Thank you Contact Information Eng. Mohamme
d Al-Ghassani Executive Vice President The Publi
c Establishment for Industrial Estates PEIE
P 968 2415 5100 F 968 2444 9095 E info_at_pe
ie.om W http//www.peie.om