Live in an apartment block? You can choose your own telecom provider

Muscat: Tenants living in complexes have the right to choose their own telecom operator, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said on Tuesday.
This comes after TRA found out that developers of complexes who serve multiple tenants often deny choice of services to the tenants regarding choosing their telecommunications service provider.
The agency stressed that the same rule applies to commercial premises like shopping malls visited by members of the public.
In a statement TRA said: "Some passive infrastructure owners/providers, like owners and developers of shopping malls and complexes, serve multiple tenants with the footprint of public, enter into arrangements and agreements with a telecommunications service provider (selected by a tender or otherwise), that has the potential to prevent effective competition and deny choice of services to the tenants and or to the public. It is noticed that such agreements enshrine exclusivity or ownership of elements of positive infrastructure and to a selected service provider thus denying the opportunities for consumers to choose their preferable service providers.
"Providing telecom services to residents and visitors of commercial and residential complexes to fully satisfy their needs can only be achieved with the support of the private sector owning and managing the infrastructure of these buildings. This can be achieved through the adoption of open access policy for the civil infrastructure, to enable all licensees to build their ducts and install equipment for the provision of telecom services in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner, and to prevent dominance and exclusivity in the provision of telecom services in these buildings," it said.