MUSCAT – The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) hosted a forum on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, highlighting the need for dynamic regulations to protect users, drive innovation and support Oman Vision 2040.
Titled, ‘Electronic Applications and Legal Challenges in Muscat’, various speakers underlined opportunities and legal issues in the digital ecosystem despite the achievement of 95 per cent internet penetration, mobile subscriptions outnumbering the national population and 61 per cent of Omanis on social media.
In opening remarks, Dr Ali bin Amer al Shaithani, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology for Communications and Information Technology, emphasised the country’s drive to keep pace with the digital revolution. He noted that electronic applications have become “an inseparable part of everyday life”, providing convenience and speed but also threatening imminent legal challenges.
Taher bin Awadh al Ibrahim, Executive Director of the Legal Affairs Unit, stated: “With the fast pace of change in the modern world, electronic applications are now an integral part of life, creating more efficient services and propelling efficiency. These chances are prospective, but they represent legal challenges and require the establishment of a balanced and open regulatory system safeguarding people, developers and institutions while boosting innovation and investment”.
Latest national statistics underscore the significant levels of digitalisation across Oman. There are well over 6.7 million active mobile subscriptions corresponding to 124 per cent of the total population (early 2025 figures). Internet penetration is almost 95 per cent with 5.14 million users. More than 3.29 million Omanis, representing 61 per cent of the population, are active on social media.
Connectivity has also increased significantly. Mobile broadband speeds averaged 92 Mbps and fixed broadband speeds averaged 78 Mbps, enabling the use of complex applications. As of May 2025, Oman had more than 5.4 million mobile broadband subscriptions and nearly 588,000 fixed internet subscriptions.
Among the emerging trends is the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) with subscriptions growing by more than 1.3 million since 2020 to 1.55 million. Officials say this is an indication of the transformation of the country towards smart cities, digital logistics and new electronic applications supporting Oman’s digital economy.
In Oman, Facebook is the most popular social media platform with 4.17 million subscribers, or 71.4 per cent of the population. In second place is Instagram with 2.81 million (48.1 per cent) and Messenger and LinkedIn with 1.88 million and 1.11 million users respectively.
These figures also underline the importance of legal and regulatory accountability, officials noted. The TRA re-affirmed that, aside from regulation, it also aims to facilitate innovation while safeguarding user security and market integrity. Adaptable instruments such as regulatory sandboxes, pilot schemes and compliance frameworks are being launched to facilitate start-ups and Omani developers to develop in a responsible manner.
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