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Viewing cable 08MUSCAT593, TELECOM LICENSE ISSUE MAY FURTHER DELAY FTA

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08MUSCAT593 2008-08-21 16:37 2011-08-30 01:44 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Muscat
VZCZCXRO5947
RR RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHMS #0593/01 2341637
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 211637Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY MUSCAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9869
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 000593 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR J.BUNTIN, C.HINCKLEY, AND M.MOWREY 
COMMERCE FOR T.HOFFMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/18/2018 
TAGS: EFIN EINT ETRD ETTC MU ETRA
SUBJECT: TELECOM LICENSE ISSUE MAY FURTHER DELAY FTA 
IMPLEMENTATION 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo for Reasons 1.4 (b, d) 
 
1. (C)  Summary:  Oman's Telecommunication Regulatory 
Authority (TRA) held a press conference August 11 inviting 
companies to bid for a new fixed telecommunications license 
package.  The bidding process may further delay 
implementation of the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by 
deferring other telecom service offerings required by the 
agreement.  Embassy, in coordination with USTR, is attempting 
to lobby Omani officials to issue FTA-compliant regulations 
for these services and map out next steps to secure FTA 
implementation before year's end.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (U) TRA announced the opening of the bid process for a 
"full fixed public telecommunications license" in a press 
conference August 11 led by Engineer Nashiah Al-Kharousiyah. 
The license package, carrying a minimum price of 500,000 
Omani Riyals ($1.3 million), provides for local and 
international phone lines, broadband services (with radio 
spectrum not currently available to Omantel, the national 
telecom provider), a submarine cable, and a landing station 
for cables.  The terms of the package include a 25-year 
contract to carry the fixed-line license with the ability to 
renew and a 15-year contract to carry broadband internet 
services with an option to renew for an additional 10 years. 
 
3.  (U) According to the announcement posted on TRA's 
website, potential bidders for the telecommunications 
licensing package must:  a) Be a telecommunications operator 
or a consortium led by a telecommunications operator; b) Have 
more than 300,000 active fixed subscribers in operation for a 
period of two years; c) Possess experience handling 
international long distance services; d) Hold net assets in 
excess of $200 million; e) Have no affiliation with Omantel; 
f) Have previous involvement in the start-up of a telecom 
network operation in a competitive market; and g) Hold no 
interest or equity in a rival consortium.  The TRA reserves 
the right to pre-qualify a maximum of 10 bidders. 
Expressions of interest must be received by TRA by August 25 
with proposals due two weeks later.  The winning bid will be 
announced at the end of October. 
 
4. (C)  Econoff spoke to Al-Kharousiyah on August 12, the day 
after the announcement, to clarify procedural guidelines and 
discuss how the licensing bid process may affect 
implementation of the FTA.  Al-Kharousiyah noted that the 
package contains a valuable trench of spectrum, one of only 
two trenches still available for use in Oman.  She added that 
TRA may consider awarding licenses to two companies, pending 
bid review.  TRA expects the bid winner(s) to develop much 
needed additional infrastructure to increase the number and 
diversify the type of telecom services offered in Oman. 
(Note: The official announcement and press conference implies 
that only one company will be awarded the package.  End 
Note.)  Al-Kharousiyah believes that once a framework for 
additional services is available, only then will the TRA be 
able to revisit other telecom licensing issues required by 
the FTA.  She assured Econoff that TRA will consider all bids 
for the current license package and encouraged U.S. companies 
to apply. 
 
5.  (C)  Under the FTA, Oman must issue Class I licenses for 
any company that meets standard, cost-based criteria to 
compete in the fixed-line market; it must also eliminate 
excessively high licensing fees.  (Note: Omanis heavily rely 
on mobile phones due to the high cost of and limited access 
to fixed-lines.  There are currently 10 mobile users per one 
fixed-line user.  End Note.)  According to Al-Kharousiyah, 
Oman will not offer these licenses separate from the 
aforementioned package until the bid process is completed and 
the physical framework for services has been improved.  USTR 
and Embassy, in a DVC held June 16, warned TRA that this 
scheme may delay FTA implementation since Oman would likely 
have to wait until at least the end of October or November to 
reexamine offering separate licenses.  Al-Kharousiyah said 
Oman followed its initial plan based on a study and advice 
from a consulting company.  She seemed to understand the 
tender process could slow the FTA process further, but 
adamantly claimed that they "were not turning back." 
 
6.  (C)  Comment:  Oman's decision to go forward with the 
aforementioned licensing format came as a surprise to the 
Embassy, as well as to several Omani contacts from the 
Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Information 
Technology Authority.  Per a series of recent calls between 
the Ambassador and Omani officials, Embassy understood that 
Oman was exploring other options to improve its telecom 
services and regulations, similar to those taken by Bahrain, 
 
MUSCAT 00000593  002 OF 002 
 
 
to bring Oman into compliance with FTA principals.  However, 
USTR confirmed that the license package itself does not 
necessarily violate the FTA, even regarding the bid fee of OR 
500,000, as it offers spectrum.  End Comment. 
 
7.  (C) Next Steps:  The Ambassador has an outstanding 
request to meet with the Minister of Commerce and Industry 
and the Minister of National Economy, both of whom have been 
out of the country traveling with the Sultan, to express our 
FTA concerns and try to set a timeline for completion of 
remaining FTA business.  The Ambassador has also sent a 
letter, cleared by USTR, to TRA Chairman Mohammed 
Al-Khusaibi, requesting confirmation of date when TRA will 
begin accepting applications for specific services and 
revision of TRA's licensing fee structure.  Pending the 
result of those meetings, Embassy will devise and coordinate 
an appropriate strategy to work with our Omani counterparts. 
GRAPPO