Omani firm receives maiden TRA licence to provide IoT services

MUSCAT, OCT 9

An Omani technology start-up has been awarded the first ever licence by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) to provide Internet-of-Things (IoT) related services in the Sultanate of Oman.

Muscat-based Artificial Recognition Technology LLC (ART) received a licence to serve as an IoT Service Provider under the recently enacted IoT Security Regulation Framework and Standard 2022.

Established in 2020, ART specialises in developing end-user services / applications that can be positioned either as the end-to-end service provider or sub-contractor of the customer owner party under the scope of IoT, said Arfat al Aghbari, Founder and Managing Director – ART.

“While our vision is to optimise digital transformation solutions in Oman and regionally, our mission is to connect the unconnected through our large-scale LoRaWAN Gateway network to cover all areas of Oman . This will enable the 4th Industrial Revolution to take hold in the Sultanate of Oman, thereby spawning the growth of smart cities through deployments of wider and affordable networks that, in turn, will improve the quality of life of individuals and the community.”

LoRAWAN Gateways enable digital devices to connect to a secure wireless network, say experts. A LoRaWAN gateway creates a Long Range (LoRA), lower-power wide-area network and is used to wirelessly connect sensors and devices for IoT solutions across a range of industries. LoRaWAN solutions are ideal for supporting wireless connectivity and are being deployed across several industries.

“As the first company in Oman to be awarded a licence in the IoT category, ART will be looking to roll out IoT networks for public and private communities in the country,” said Al Aghbari.

“The IoT network is essential for any IoT-based services as it is the medium through which data is transmitted/transferred. LoRaWAN is a low-power, wide area networking protocol built on top of the LoRa radio modulation technique. It acts as an intermediate that connects the devices to the Internet and manages communication between end-node devices and network gateways.”

The roll-out of IoT networks will help Oman realise its vision to establish smart cities and accelerate its digital transformation, says Al Aghbari. “Usage of LoRaWAN in industrial spaces and smart cities is growing because it is an affordable long-range, bi-directional communication protocol with very low power consumption — devices can run for ten years on a small battery. With cheaper and affordable unit rates, this will allow and encourage digital transformation to take place naturally by increasing acceptance from the public and private sectors.”TURN TO PAGE 14