The company bid OR17.7m ($46m) to build the network for Oman’s largest mobile phone company, compared with Nokia Siemens which bid OR77m and Ericsson which offered OR56m.

Omantel is one of the last mobile phone operators in the Gulf to build a 3G network. Mobily in Saudi Arabia, Qtel in Qatar, and Zain and Wataniya in Kuwait have all offered customers 3G services for more than 12 months.

Operators use 3G technology to provide services such as photo messaging and mobile broadband, which encourages customers to spend more.

The Omani government is expected to sell a strategic stake in Omantel during 2008.