Omantel to introduce IP telephony soon

Muscat: International calls for Oman residents would soon become much cheaper as Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) is all set to introduce internet protocol telephony (IP Telephony) for its subscribers.

"We are working on all the aspects, including tariff for the IP Telephony to be introduced," Dr Mohammad Bin Ali Al Wohaibi, chief executive officer of Omantel, told a news conference yesterday at the company headquarters in Al Khuwair district in Muscat.

In reply to a question, he said that the tariff would be much lower than the current public switched telephone network (PSTN). However, he said the migration from PSTN to IP Telephony will not be overnight.

Gradual reduction

Dr Al Wohaibi also said that the tariff would not be dramatically brought down. "The tariff will be gradually reduced, otherwise Omantel revenues will show a sharp drop."

He agreed that several cyber cafes in the country were illegally offering IP Telephony. "The Telecommunication Regulatory Authority deals with them but we do monitor the culprits and bring to the TRA's notice," he said.