General Overview:

The Sultanate of Oman is located in the south-east corner of the Arabian Peninsula, in a strategic location on the Arabian Gulf . The governing Sultan Qaboos bin Said has ruled the state since 1970 having come to power after a military coup d'état which overthrew his father (1). Qaboos launched an open program to update all aspects of life in Omani society, with the notable exception of political life.

Politics in Oman take place in the framework of an absolute monarchy, though it looks as if it is moving slowly towards a form of constitutional monarch. However, despite the fact that "the Status of the State", which was issued in 1996 allowed the existence of a two-chamber parliament; "State Council" and "Shura Council" (2), their roles are merely advisory and they have no competences. The statute of the State stipulates that the Cabinet is the body entitled to implement the general policies of the state. However, its role ends at the stage of "referring the recommendations" to the Sultan, including the draft laws and decrees (3). While the Constitution places all power in the hands of Sultan Qaboos without holding him to account, though it allows him to hold state employees personally to account.

Oman has a population of 2.4 million (some 600,000 of these are non-Omani citizens). The State's main source of income is from oil. The average annual per capita income is 8,992 dollars. This means that the Sultanate has one of the lowest incomes when compared to other Gulf States .

Internet and Telecommunication Sector

The sector is dominated by the Omani telecommunication company known as Oman Tel Company ( www.omantel.net.om ). Oman Tel is a closed joint-stock company wholly owned by the government. It was restructured in 2003 in what was promoted as a step towards liberalizing the telecommunication market. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority ( www.tra.gov.om ) was founded to implement the general policy of the telecommunications sector, in accordance with Sultanate Decree No.30/2002 (4).

Statistics from the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Oman show that there are 269,000 phone lines and over 1.5 million (5) mobile phone subscriptions in Oman . The Internet World Statistics website estimates that Oman has some 245,000 internet users (6).

Despite a rapid rise in the number of internet users Oman still has relatively few in comparison to other countries in the region. Despite persistent attempts to develop the use of the Internet outside the capital, Muscat , little headway has been made, particularly with regard to access to high-speed ADSL services (7)

The Sultanate of Oman is striving to catch up with modern telecommunications through its ambitious e-government project. The project has several strands, including the "Oman Digital Society" and aims to expand the numbers who can use computers and a better understanding of the internet. In this context, Oman Tel signed an agreement with the Information Technology Authority to create a unified governmental network for ministries and other governmental institutions. According to statements from Oman Tel, it is expected that the project will lead to the creation of some 750 governmental websites (8).

The monopoly of internet services, high prices, and technical problems have deeply affected the spread of the service and number of users in Oman . This accounts for the limited influence of such media within the Omani society, which can be clearly noticed through the low number of Omani blogs and local websites. There are some active web forums, yet there are fewer than in other neighbor countries, and those that do exist do not exert the same level of influence due to self-censorship by those who make posts.

Communications and Internet Law

There are three primary sources of which inform the legal and operational environment for the internet in Oman . These are the Status of the State (a new Basic Law or Constitution) of Oman , the Press and Publication Law and the Internet Service Manual.

The Basic Law adopted by Sultan Qaboos in 1996 stipulates numerous basic freedoms. Article (18) that "personal liberty is guaranteed in accordance with the law and that no one may be arrested, searched, detained or imprisoned or restrict his freedom of movement and residence, except in accordance with the law". Article (29), it is stipulated that "freedom of expression by saying, writing and other means of expression is guaranteed within the limits of law". Article (30), it is stipulated that "Freedom of postal and telegraphic correspondence, telephone calls and other means of communication is protected and their confidentiality is guaranteed. They can not be censored, searched, divulged, delayed, or confiscated except in cases prescribed by law". Article (31), it is stipulated that "freedom of the press, printing and publishing is guaranteed in accordance with the terms and conditions prescribed by law" (9).

The Press and Publication Law of 1984 include penalties of up to two years in prison and fines of two thousand riyals (equivalent of US$ 5,000). The "Committee for Press and Publication" acts as a court in deciding upon such matters but its rulings do not become binding until they are approved by the Minister of Information.

After strenuous attempts over a long time by journalists and activists in and outside of the country to have the Press and Publications Law amended, in August 2004 the authorities announced that it would be. The amendment resulted in more restrictions as it raised the capital required to establish newspapers magazines and advertisement agencies . The amendment did not include any provisions towards breaking the official monopoly of telecommunications and the freedom of expression (10).

Perhaps the truest gauge of the governments intentions toward internet freedom are contained in the Internet Service Manual. This controls the use of the World Wide Web in Oman and includes detailed stipulations and prohibitions which the public internet service provider must abide by . These prohibitions contain a long list of what is not allowed to be published. This includes material that could contain any data or information that would: endanger national security, defame His Majesty the Sultan or the members of the royal family, be inconsistent with the effective laws of the state, undermine confidence in the fairness of the government, contain false data or rumors, lead to the hatred of or degradation of the government, or promote a political or ideological ideas conflicting with the general system of the country (11). The manual further prohibits the use of any locally unlicensed means for connecting to the internet via satellite. It also prohibits the browsing of websites which contain immoral or anti-social material. Further, private companies, institutions and authorities are not allowed to use encoding devices without the permission of a competent authority. There is also a requirement that the services not be made available to those who are under the legal age (12).

Censorship and Website Blocking and imprisonment

Official information on internet censorship systems, the bodies governing this process or even the rules governing the methods of censorship are not readily available to the public.

Internet censorship in Oman is a central process easily implemented by the authorities, as they have a monopoly over internet services. The State exercises broad censorship on various websites, using SmartFilter software produced by an American company (13).

Citizens are afraid because of the lack of protection and privacy; they fear the authorities that arrest the web forum members disguised under pseudonyms if they criticize state policies. They are also put under pressure and are prevented from writing. Sometimes, they are also threatened to lose their jobs and get imprisoned.

Debate websites such as the Omani network website known as "Sabla" ( www.omania.net ) are the only outlet for discussing local affairs. Although the discussions are under pseudonyms, this does not prevent the Omani authorities from arresting and questioning the contributors to these websites, and subsequently sentencing them to imprisonment for one year with a stay of execution. That is in addition to prevention them from writing for five years (14). An Omani activist said that the Omani authorities did not block her website because it allows them to know how the people are thinking (15).

O m ani activist "Tiba Almauli" won membership of the Omani Shura Council from 1994 to 2000. During this time she criticized Ministers. In 2000 when she was no longer a member of the Shura, she lost her job with the Ministry of Information, where she had been working. Afterwards, she started to practice political activism through the Omani "Sabla" forum. She wrote a large number of posts using a pseudonym before the authorities arrest and questioned her in May 2005 about her writings in the forum and her SMS messages that were critical about the increase in the price of gasoline (16). Eventually her activities on the internet led to a prison sentence of 18 months for criticizing senior state officials in a post on "Sbala" forum. The prison sentence was later reduced to six months in the Court of Appeal. She did not request exemption although she claimed that she highly appreciates Sultan Qaboos. Despite the end of the sentence, she still feels that she is censored (17). Almauli was released in February 2006.

The poet and human rights activist, "Abdullah Al-Riyami," was arrested on 12 July 2005 on account of his human rights activism. He was also banned from appearing in the media, audio and video and also from writing in the official newspapers prior to his arrest because of his criticism of the government (18). On 22 March 2004 Al-Riyami posted an article online concerning freedom of expression and the cultural policies adopted by the state. This lead to an unprecedented debate as Al-Riyami called for the media to be set free from government control and for the elimination of censorship on books, arts, and the internet. This led him to be banned from appearing in media, according to a decision made by the minister of information (19). However, he continued to write and to express his views through on the internet and through a cultural web forum ( www.kikah.com ) (20) prior to his arrest in July 2005 until the beginnings of 2006.

Due to the level of activity on the internet and its increased use to say that that would never be published in the traditional media the authorities have taken further action to control and censor the freedom provided by the Internet. Authorities have posted advertisements on the local websites warning that any criticism of the Sultan or government officials will be censored and might lead its writers to be questioned by the authorities. This has resulted in an increased level of self-censorship by internet users in Oman (21).

Some websites which are blocked seem to be done on an arbitary basis since they do not contain any material that is prescribed by the government such as pornography or critical politics. For example, the administrators of the Saudi "Al-Kon" network were astonished when all the websites they host were blocked. They said that they impose strict guidelines to prevent clients from posting any anti-religious or anti-traditional material. Omani officials have not responded or clarified the reason behind such blocking, in spite of the frequent endeavors calling for a response (22).

Oman blocked the Skype website which provides live voice calling online. This action shocked foreigners working in Oman as it provides cheaper service than other traditional telecommunication means and many of them depended on Skype to contact their families. Afterwards, an Oman Tel official stated that the blocking was not official. He added that the company will unblock the website within Oman (23).

Internet Cafés

The exact number of internet cafes located in the Sultanate of Oman cannot be identified easily. That is because of the absence of any figures, even informal statistics, to monitor the number of these cafes. The only available statistics is that provided by Telecommunications Regulatory Authority which mentioned that the number of leased internet service subscribers including cyber cafes reached 215 subscriptions (24). This may give a general idea about the number of cyber cafes, although they are not accurate.

Internet cafés mostly exist in the capital, Muscat , and can be rarely seen in small towns. This is because of the absence of ADSL service in such areas.

The procedures and conditions which must be met in order to open an internet café in Oman are long and complex as permission is needed by both Oman Tel and the some government agencies. Applications are made to the Sales Department of the Commercial Sector of Oman Tel Company (25). There are a number of conditions which must be fulfilled, these include; evidence of the purchase of original software, confirmation that the Proxy blocker is used on internet browsers and that the proxy should also include a tracking system which can detect which computer is used. There are further conditions regulating commercial activity and practice, and approval on the Terms of Internet Service Manual (26).

The most important condition imposed on the licensed service provider is to submit a "user log file" before starting to operate the service. This must include the user name, ID card number (for citizen) or Work Card (for foreigners), IP address, log in date, log in time, log off time, and the signature of the user (27).

There are further conditions on the lay out and internal workings of the café as owners must submit a full plan showing the internal divisions of the café. The design of the café should allow easy vision of computer monitors and there should be no closed rooms or curtains to cover the internet user. Moreover, the internal lighting of the café should make it possible to monitor what is happening in the café from outside (28). This deprives Internet users from the privacy they desire.
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1-Sherif Mansour, the annual report on Civil Society and Democratic Transformation in The Arab World, 2004, Ibn Khaldon Center.
2-Ministry of Information, main status of the state, article 58, http://www.omanet.om/arabic/goverment/gov9.asp?cat=gov&subcat=gv3 (visited on 22 July 2006 )
3-Ministry of Information, main status of the state, article 44.
4-Ministry of Information, Telecommunications sector, http://www.omanet.om/arabic/social/dev9.asp?cat=sdev&subcat=sdev1 (visited on 22 July 2006 )
5-Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, 2006 index, http://www.tra.gov.om/test1/sectorindicators_2st06.htm (visited on 24 August 2006 )
6-Oman , internet usage and marketing report, Internet World Stats, http://www.internetworldstats.com/me/om.htm (visited on 28 July 2006 )
7- Frequently Asked Questions, Oman Tel website, http://www.omantel.net.om/arabic/policy/contact.asp (visited on 29 August 2006 )
8-Essential transformation in the telecommunication sector, Al-Watan newspaper, http://www.alwatan.com/graphics/2006/07jul/25.7/dailyhtml/local.html#4 (visited on 26 September 2006 )
9-Ministry of Information, main status of the state, Ibid
10-Ibid
11-World Wide Web User Manual, Oman Tel website, http://www.omantel.net.om/services/business/internet/Terms_and_condtions... (visited on 12 August 2006 )
12-Ibid
13-Exporting censorship, Internet censorship Explorer, http://ice.citizenlab.org/?p=196 (visited on 18 June 2006 )
14-Oman and Liberties, Independent Media Center (Indymedia), http://beirut.indymedia.org/ar/2005/07/3014.shtml (visited on 3 August 2006 )
15-Tiba Al-Meawali: An Omani Female Striving for Human Rights, Middle East online website, http://www.middle-east-online.com/oman/?id=38467 ( 12 August 2006 )
16-Tiba Al-Meawali: An Omani Female Striving for Human Rights, Middle East online website.
17-Ibid
18-Oman : Fee Abdullah Al-Riyami, HRinfo website, http://www.hrinfo.net/mena/achr/2005/pr0713-1.shtml (visited on 11 July 2006 )
19-Sultanate of Oman , whereto?, Indymedia, http://beirut.indymedia.org/ar/2005/07/3017.shtml (visited on 3 August 2006 )
20-Omani Media and Black Lists, HRinfo website, http://www.hrinfo.net/mena/rsf/pr041124.shtml (visited 11 July 2006 )
21-U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2005, Oman , Ibid
22-Abdullah El-Megafel Al-Subaie, Director of Al-Kon Network for Internet Services, Swalif Soft forum, http://www.swalif.net/softs/printthread.php?t=36106 (visited on 23 June 2006 )
23-Oman Skype block due to end shortly, ITP Technology, Ibid
24-Increase in the Number of Mobile Phone Lines and Internet subscribers, Al-Khaleej newspaper, http://www.alkhaleej.ae/articles/show_article.cfm?val=249168 (visited on 13 September 2006 )
25-Cyber Cafes, Oman Tel website, http://www.omantel.net.om/arabic/services/business/internet/cafe.asp (visited on 12 August 2006 )
26-Acquiring Cyber Café License, Oman Tel website, http://www.omantel.net.om/arabic/services/business/internet/preapprovale... (visited on 12 August 2006 )
27-Acquiring Cyber Café License, Oman Tel website, http://www.omantel.net.om/arabic/services/business/internet/preapprovale... (visited on 12 August 2006 )
28-Operating Internet Service Application, Oman Tel website, http://www.omantel.net.om/services/business/internet/internet_cafe_appli... (visited on 12 August 2006 )