The Divide Defined
Oman’s digital divide operates along multiple axes: urban-rural, where connectivity quality and digital service availability differ significantly between Muscat and remote interior or southern regions; generational, where younger Omanis are digital natives while older populations struggle with digital government services; socioeconomic, where affluent households have access to devices, high-speed connections, and digital literacy that lower-income families lack; and gender-based, where female digital participation, while growing, lags male participation in several dimensions.
Infrastructure Gaps
While mobile broadband coverage is extensive, fixed broadband quality and availability varies significantly outside major urban centres. The Oman Broadband Company’s fibre rollout is progressing but has not yet achieved universal coverage. In rural and remote areas, internet speeds and reliability constrain access to e-government services, online education, telehealth, and digital commerce. The digital infrastructure gap reinforces existing geographic inequalities, as communities with poor connectivity are also those with fewer physical service alternatives.
Skills and Literacy
Digital infrastructure is necessary but not sufficient – digital literacy and skills determine whether connectivity translates into economic opportunity. Oman’s education system is integrating digital skills into curricula, but the pace and depth vary across schools. Adult digital literacy programmes reach a fraction of those who need them. The rapid shift to digital government services during the pandemic exposed the gap between policy assumption (universal digital access) and reality (significant populations unable to navigate online systems). Small business digital adoption, critical for economic diversification, remains uneven.
Bridging Strategies
Closing the digital divide requires: accelerating broadband infrastructure in underserved areas; providing subsidised devices and connectivity for low-income households; integrating digital literacy into all levels of education including adult learning; maintaining offline alternatives for essential government services during the transition; supporting small business digital adoption through training and subsidised platforms; and measuring the divide systematically to target interventions. An inclusive digital transformation is essential – a digital economy that only serves urban, educated, affluent populations will deepen rather than reduce inequality.