IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Ministry of Defence agencies celebrated the launch of its electronic programmes.

A statement issued by the Oman News Agency said that, on Thursday, the Ministry of Defence at the Ministry of Defence Pension Fund theatre celebrated the launch of a number of electronic programmes under the patronage of His Excellency Dr Mohammed bin Nasser bin Ali Al Zaabi, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Defence.

The five-day event, to be officially inaugurated by senior royal family member Sayyid Shihab bin Tareq Al Said, will play host to more than 100 companies from the GCC and abroad.

Muscat, Oman’s capital, is famous for its low-rise buildings and long history. Unlike Dubai, known for its skyscrapers, Muscat has preserved its traditional look. However, now, as Oman plans for a future without oil, it is working to modernize the city with a $2.6 billion Smart City project.

The country is pouring billions of dollars into new projects. One of the biggest is Sultan Haitham City. This new development will focus on keeping buildings low while providing homes for both locals and visitors, according to The Wall Street Journal’s YouTube video earlier this month.

Citing the soon-to-be-released UN eGovernment Survey Report 2014, Richard Kerby said the countries of the entire Gulf region were moving closer to the ranks of European countries in eGovernment achievements. He said that when the report would be released in the middle of the year, there would be good news for the country. However, he did not divulge the details of the report, which is still awaited.

The UAE General Information Authority (GIA) has honoured its Omani counterpart, Information Technology Authority (ITA) for its role in helping promote e-governance.

The felicitation took place on the sidelines of the First Gulf Cooperation Council eGovernment Conference.

Through the establishment of secure infrastructure, national IT training and capacity building, the launch of the Official eGovernment Services Portal, in addition to standards frameworks, policies, and increased awareness, Oman has placed in the 50th position in the Global IT Report 2009-2010 among 133 countries, released 25 March 2010, by the World Economic Forum.

Decades back when Oman had first embarked on its development journey; heavy trucks loaded with tonnes of construction materials journeyed around the country to transform the nation into a modern country.

Today, the scene has changed dramatically as the modern world lies beneath the network and cables that transmit data and the innovative ICT solutions that reshape our lives to become smarter.

Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel), the Sultanate’s premier telecoms provider, on Saturday announced the formation of a dedicated division focused on delivering Information Communication Technology (ICT) services to public and private sector clients across the Sultanate.

The division offers clients unprecedented opportunity for comprehensive technology solutions, made possible by Omantel’s leading global partnerships and expansive network infrastructure. The formation of the new division aligns with Omantel’s vision to bridge the digital divide, roll-out smart technology and launch innovative business and e-Government services, accelerating Oman’s ascension towards better ICT preparedness and global standings.

Muscat Municipality and Oman Telecommunications Company Omantel signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to employ the information technology solutions and services in developing municipal services and making the two cities of Muscat and Sohar smart and sustainable.

Eng. Isam Saud Hareb Al Zadjali, Chairman of Muscat Municipality and Sheikh Talal bin Said Al Mamari, the CEO of Omantel, signed the memorandum on behalf of both Muscat Municipality and Omantel, in the presence of Abdulsalam Mohammed Al Murshidi, the chairman of the governing council of Omantel, in the presence of officials from both sides.

Some 180,000 lines will be on offer from the majority state-owned Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) under 13 different packages designed to ‘suit all budgets’ with a maximum speed of 8 mbps and 16 mbps for home and business users, respectively, key officials of the firm said, adding that the target for the current year was 75,000 subscribers. Existing clients will be upgraded free of charge.

Partnership comes in line with Oman vision 2040 to achieve smart, sustainable and vibrant cities

Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has announced that it has joined hands with National Energy Centre, a specialist in Internet of Things (IoT) projects, for the development and implementation of a smart city pilot project in its Ras Al Hamra residential and leisure community.

The sultanate's biggest oil and gas producer, PDO said its collaboration with NEC will help enhance and promote the exchange of expertise in relation to smart cities in areas such as smart water metering, street lighting, urban water management, smart energy metering and irrigation.

The Royal Oman Police (ROP) website won the top position in the ‘e-content’ and ‘e-project’ categories and was runner-up in ‘e-service’.

The Muscat Securities Market took one first and one second prize.

The two-day OCF14 program included discussion panels and breakout sessions on 'Trialing Public Policy', 'Changing Public Sector Culture', 'Public Services and Citizen Engagement', '21st Century Civil Servant' as well as a feature session on 'Enhancing Oman's Competitiveness'.

Registration for the 5th edition of Sultan Qaboos Award for Excellence in e-Government Services will start on Monday.

The award is organised and supervised by the Information Technology Authority (ITA) and targeting government and private institutions, including small and medium enterprises to encourage them to develop electronic services and honouring the outstanding projects in the provision of electronic services.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has initiated a public consultation on its goal to develop a regulatory policy framework to support the growth of Smart Cities in the Sultanate of Oman.

A consultation paper issued by the telecom regulator last week seeks, among other things, public validation of its role in regulating key aspects of Smart City development and governance, given the critical importance of Information & Communications Technology (ICT) in the operation of these smart urban hubs.

"The ROP's special team is working on the project. By the end of this year, the machine readable passports will be replaced with ePassports which cannot be forged," an official at the ROP pavilion in Comex told Times of Oman.