Oman Telecommunications Co. (Omantel) has awarded two contracts worth $25.2 million to extend its GSM network, reported the Gulf News.
Siemens has won a 23 million euro tender to expand Omantel's GSM network in the Dakhiliya, Dhahirah and Sharqiyah regions and the governorate of Dhofar, said the paper.
"Last February, Omantel successfully launched fixed and mobile pre-paid services based on Siemens; intelligent network technology and the subscriber base has been growing since then at a very rapid pace," said a senior vice president at Siemens' regional base.
"The award of the GSM turnkey project is a major building block in the continuous partnership with Omantel."
In the other agreement, Motorola's global telecom solutions sector (GTSS) won a $5.2 million contract to deploy its Horizonmacro digital base stations to provide extra capacity for up to 20,000 cellar subscribers and improve coverage in the Batinah Coast area, the paper added.
The expansion of the wireless network is scheduled to start in the second half of the year.
"This contract strengthens the relationship between Omantel and Motorola. The expanded wireless infrastructure deployment will enable Omantel to provide its cellular subscribers with enhanced coverage and features," said Jeff Cherif, general manager for Motorola GTSS' Middle East and Africa division.
So far the company has won contracts from eight Middle East countries to supply GSM infrastructure equipment – Albawaba.com
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