Muscat – Oman has made significant gains in mobile and broadband performance, climbing five places to 18th in the Speedtest Global Index in 2025, according to Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence data.
The country’s all-technology median download speed more than doubled to 121.84 Mbps between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the same period in 2025. Over the same period, median 5G download speeds increased from 191.03 Mbps to 259.94 Mbps, reflecting steady network upgrades and wider coverage.
The 2025 global rankings continue to be dominated by Gulf countries, with the UAE leading the index, followed by Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. Bulgaria, Brazil, South Korea, Brunei, Saudi Arabia and Singapore complete the top ten, underlining the strong presence of both GCC and Asian markets in high-speed connectivity.
Oman’s improvement has been driven by regulatory measures and rising competition. Policies introduced by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), including infrastructure sharing and a phased 3G network sunset, supported the entry of Vodafone as a third mobile operator in 2022. Combined with mid- and low-band spectrum allocation, these measures accelerated 5G deployment, pushing population coverage to 91% by 2024.
‘A cornerstone of TRA’s strategy to improve network performance and spectral efficiency was the mandated retirement of legacy 3G infrastructure. By decommissioning 3G, the TRA allows operators to refarm valuable low-band spectrum (typically 900 MHz and 2100 MHz) for 4G and 5G use, which provides far greater data capacity per MHz of spectrum,’ the Ookla report stated.
Investment by operators between 2021 and 2025 expanded the national 5G site count to 6,671 by mid-2025. Omantel and Ooredoo continue to lead the market in 5G download performance, supported by larger mid-band spectrum holdings and ongoing network investment. Ookla data shows Omantel and Ooredoo median 5G download speeds reached 323.41 Mbps and 321.67 Mbps, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Oman’s international connectivity strategy also strengthened network resilience. During the Red Sea cable cuts in September 2025, traffic was rerouted through more than 20 subsea cables and terrestrial links, limiting disruption to online services. The approach helped Oman avoid the wider service impact seen in some neighbouring markets.
The combined impact of regulation, competition and infrastructure investment has reshaped Oman’s mobile market, lifting network performance and strengthening the country’s standing in global connectivity rankings.
Global Index (Top 10)
1 United Arab Emirates
2 Qatar
3 Kuwait
4 Bahrain
5 Bulgaria
6 Brazil
7 South Korea
8 Brunei
9 Saudi Arabia
10 Singapore
