MUSCAT • Oman said yesterday it shortlisted six bidders seeking a licence for the Gulf country's second fixed-line telecommunications network, that would break the monopoly of state-run Omantel.

Oman's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said the six firms or consortiums were among 10 that had submitted bids to build and operate a company also offering broadband and marine telecommunications services, state news agency ONA said.

An official of the regulator said their names would be announced next month.

Oman, which already has two mobile telephone operators and is also selling a stake in Oman Telecommunications Co (Omantel), is liberalising the telecoms sector as part of efforts to encourage foreign investment as its oil production dries up.

An economy ministry official said earlier this month that Oman was looking for a company that could invest at least $300m in the first five years of the contract.

The country of about 2.7 million people is offering a package including a 25-year contract to build and operate the second fixed-line service and a similar 15-year contract for broadband Internet services. Both contracts are renewable.

The TRA had set August 25 as the deadline for bids, with the licence expected to be awarded around the end of October.

The sultanate has a fixed-line penetration of just 10 percent and an Internet penetration of just 3 percent, TRA said.

Omantel lost its mobile telephone monopoly when Nawras, which is 70 percent owned by Qatar Telecommunications Co, started operations in 2005.

Oman, which owns 70 percent of Omantel, invited investor interest in July for the sale of a 25 percent stake in the operator, which it hopes will further boost competitiveness.

Meanwhile, Omantel hopes to maintain a 54 per cent profit rise this year after its second-quarter profit surged on an increase in user numbers and cost cuts.

The company posted net profit of 74.8m rials ($194.5m) in the six months ended June 30, up 54.3pc from the year-earlier period, it said.

Net profit in the second quarter rose to 36.36m rials, up 48.8pc.