MUSCAT – According to the latest figures released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), postpaid mobile subscriptions grew by 5.3 percent to 1,305,759, while prepaid subscriptions remained broadly stable at 5,242,015.

Subscriptions to Internet of Things (IoT) or machine-to-machine services continued to expand, rising 9.2 percent year-on-year to 1,698,229.

In the internet segment, active mobile broadband subscriptions reached 5,489,728, while fixed broadband subscriptions stood at 590,500 by the end of May.

Among fixed broadband technologies, fibre-optic connections for homes and businesses increased 6.9 percent to 362,618 subscriptions, while fixed 5G subscriptions totalled 210,337.

Satellite internet recorded the strongest growth, with subscriptions surging 145.5 percent year-on-year to 1,603.

Meanwhile, legacy technologies continued to decline. Fixed 4G subscriptions dropped 69 percent to 6,102, while Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) subscriptions fell 22.8 percent to 9,114. Other internet services – including broadband delivered via power lines, Ethernet and leased internet lines – also declined 6.1 percent to 726 subscriptions.