Muscat: The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Oman has emphasized the critical role that proper internal telecommunications wiring plays in delivering uninterrupted, high-quality services within residential and commercial buildings across the Sultanate.
As part of an awareness campaign, the TRA pointed out that poor internal wiring remains the primary cause of subscriber complaints from various governorates. The Authority urges property owners, developers, and service providers to strictly adhere to its technical guidelines, which specify installation requirements tailored to different building types including single-storey homes, multi-storey buildings, commercial properties, and residential compounds.
The guidelines are designed to boost network efficiency and enhance digital service performance by ensuring a reliable internal infrastructure from the outset.
Key recommendations include:
- Single-storey residential buildings: Use CAT-6 or higher copper cables from the main distribution box to all telecom sockets. Each Wi-Fi access point should have an independent cable, and separate RJ45 cables are advised for TVs, security cameras, and smart home devices.
- Multi-storey residential buildings: Install a main distribution box on the ground floor connected vertically to distribution boxes on each level, or establish a dedicated telecom room in larger buildings. Each unit should have its own distribution box linked by structured cabling.
- Commercial buildings: Employ a dedicated telecommunications room instead of a main distribution box to manage higher service demands effectively.
- Residential compounds: Set up a central telecom room connected via specialized conduits and optical fibre cables to all units, ensuring high-speed, quality data services across the compound.
The TRA stressed that compliance with these standards is essential to support Oman’s digital transformation initiatives. Non-adherence may lead to persistent poor service coverage and degrade the end-user experience within buildings.
