TRA Issues Number Portability
Regulatory Framework

Muscat, 30 Aug 2026 (ONA)
— The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has issued the Number
Portability Regulatory Framework, a strategic move designed to empower
end-users to select the telecommunications service provider that best aligns
with their requirements in terms of pricing, service quality, and network
coverage, while retaining their existing numbers. The framework further seeks
to regulate and govern number portability procedures, ensuring their seamless
execution and thereby fostering fair competition within the telecommunications
market.

The regulation aims to
institutionalize and standardize number portability processes, automate
transfer operations, and establish a clear time-bound framework for service
completion—thereby accelerating number transitions, streamlining procedures,
and enhancing the overall user experience. Concurrently, it reinforces
equitable competition among licensees and solidifies the Authority’s
supervisory role in monitoring service delivery in accordance with the highest
regulatory standards.

The regulation addresses both
licensed telecommunications service providers and end-users, delineating the
roles, obligations, and entitlements of each party, so as to ensure more
efficient and transparent service provision, bolster user confidence in the
telecommunications market, and keep pace with the sector’s ongoing evolution
within the Sultanate of Oman.

The Sultanate of Oman first
introduced number portability services in 2006, enabling end-users to switch
between telecommunications service providers while retaining their numbers. In
2008, the Authority issued the inaugural regulatory instrument governing
licensees’ obligations concerning the provision of this service. However, with
the expansion of the telecommunications market and the concomitant increase in
the number of licensees, the need to overhaul the regulatory framework became
evident, following the identification of several practices that had adversely
affected the efficiency of number portability operations—including delays in
processing requests. This necessitated the automation of the process and the
establishment of a centralized system to ensure both expeditious and equitable
procedures.

— Ends/AH