The total number of mobile phone subscriptions increased by 3.8% at the end of November 2024 compared to the same period last year, with their number reaching 7,306,975 subscriptions, according to statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The number of postpaid mobile phone subscriptions increased by 26.2% to reach 2,254,376 subscriptions and prepaid mobile phone subscriptions decreased by 3.8% to reach 5,052,599 subscriptions, including 3,831,898 subscriptions from operators and 1,220,701 subscriptions from resellers.

The number of active mobile broadband subscriptions decreased by 4.7% to reach 5,760,411 subscriptions by the end of November 2024. Meanwhile, subscriptions to fixed internet service increased by 2.9% by the end of November 2024 to reach 581,033 subscriptions, compared to the same period in 2023.

The total number of subscriptions to fixed broadband internet service (more than 256 kilobytes/second) reached 579,331 subscriptions by the end of November 2024, an increase of 2.9% compared to November 2023, while the number of subscriptions via fixed narrowband internet (less than 256 kilobytes/second), which includes telephone calls and some leased internet lines, decreased by 1.3% to reach 1,702 subscriptions.

Statistics indicated a decrease in the total fixed telephone lines subscriptions by the end of November2024 by 25% to reach 436,859 subscriptions compared to the end of November 2023. As for analogue fixed-line subscriptions, which include prepaid and postpaid, their number decreased by the end of November 2024 by 72.0% to reach 63,588 subscriptions compared to the same period of the previous year.

The number of fixed-line subscriptions connected to Internet Protocol (IP) technology reached 323,012 subscriptions during the same period, recording an increase of 8.6% compared to the end of November 2023. Statistics showed that the number of subscriptions to digital network channels for integrated services decreased by the end of November 2024 by 1.0% to reach 49,577 subscriptions, while the number of public telephones - payphones at 155 and the number of fixed wireless subscriptions decreased by 26.6% to reach 527 subscriptions.

Among governorates, Muscat ranked first in the number of fixed analogue telephone lines, with a percentage of 49.3% at the end of November 2024, followed by Al Batinah North Governorate with 2.6%, and Dhofar Governorate with a percentage of 10.3%, while and the percentage of lines in the remaining governorates reached 37.8%. (ENDS)