Oman’s digital economy in space sector set for big leap

Muscat: Omantel and the international emerging technology company ‘ETCO’ are set to give a major boost to the digital economy of the Sultanate of Oman in the space sector.

Omantel, the leading provider of integrated communications and technology solutions in the Sultanate of Oman, announced the signing of a partnership agreement with ‘ETCO’ aimed at providing satellite image data analysis services for the Cube Satellite (Aman Sat).  

The agreement was signed by Dr. Ghalibbin Saif Al Hosni, Chief People Officer at Omantel, and Eng. Abdul Aziz Jaafar, the Chief Executive Officer of ETCO.

Based on the terms of the agreement, which was signed at the Cornwall Spaceport in UK, Omantel will contribute to this project with its technical expertise in information technology and digitalisation as a technology partner to Aman Mission.

Commenting on this event, Eng. Aladdin Baitfadhil, Chief Commercial Officer at Omantel, said, “This strategic partnership with ETCO will enable Omantel to expand its digital services and support pioneering investments in the satellite image data sector, especially as Omantel owns artificial intelligence solutions, Internet of Things and its relevant technologies.”

“Thus, satellite image analysis services come to complement these solutions and will provide a qualitative addition to the digital services we provide, especially those related to the space field, which allows data analysis and supports scientific research projects in space sciences and much more. We, at Omantel, always support national institutions and vital projects for the benefit of the national economy and society”, Baitfadhil added.

In turn, Eng. Abdul Aziz Jaafar, the Chief Executive Officer of ETCO, said, “We are pleased to sign this agreement with Omantel to complete its technical partnership in Aman mission and to expand our commercial operations in the space sector so as to provide satellite image data to customers in the Sultanate of Oman and the region.”

Therefore, we seek from this partnership to transfer knowledge, technologies and involve national competencies by engaging in space-related industries and technologies. It is worthy stating that we have started our projects in the space sector with a number of global partners, and today we are proud of this national partnership with Omantel as it is a cornerstone for achieving the national goals of the Sultanate of Oman to create an interactive digital economy with the latest developments in the advanced technology sector,” he added.

“Aman Sat” satellite – which is owned by the Omani company “ETCO” – will be launched by the American company “Virgin Orbit” from Cornwall Spaceport in the United Kingdom, and it will provide several services including environmental monitoring images of coasts and nature reserves, images of weather readings, tracking climatic phenomena, marine and port monitoring images, urban and structural planning maps, oil and gas infrastructure management, vegetation cover images, water resources monitoring images, and insurance services images.

Accordingly, the importance of operating this satellite lies in the fact that it is the first national satellite in the category of cubic satellites dedicated to capturing space images through ground stations to meet the needs in the Sultanate of Oman and the region in the space sector, along with the focus on strengthening local capabilities in analysing satellite image data and supporting national competencies in the scientific sectors for transferring the latest knowledge to them, in addition to reducing the costs for the sectors benefiting from the satellite images, where these can be used for environmental inspection and increase agricultural efficiency.