LogicaCMG is supposed to supply additional next-generation messaging products and solutions to Oman Mobile to facilitate growth of its services. Would this help in reducing complexity and costs and, at the same time, enable timely introduction of new services?

LogicaCMG’s next-generation messaging platform was installed and integrated with the Oman Mobile network in June 2006. It is the latest product release from LogicaCMG with state-of-the-art technology to support high service availability and very high messaging capacity of thousands of messages per second. The platform's architecture enables us to introduce IP-based services, share components, centralize functions and, thus, reduce complexity and costs. At the same time, it allows us to introduce new services within quick time to keep our customers satisfied. It also provides the flexibility, features and framework components to help us evolve our service portfolio to include richer and more interactive messaging services to meet market expectations.

The number of subscribers for post- and pre-paid mobile phone services by Oman Mobile and Nawras Telecom is said to have risen by 14 per cent, to 1,519,560 in April this year compared to 1,333,225 at the end of December 2005. What is Oman Mobile's share in of this percentage and who among the two operators has a clear advantage?

By the end of 2005, Oman Mobile closed the year with 81 per cent of the market share. Oman Mobile has managed to capture approximately half of the 14 per cent growth, bringing the total market share for the company to around 78 per cent at the end of April this year. This indicates clearly that our valued customers are content with our innovative service package, the regionally recognized network coverage, the affordable tariff and transparent services.

What is the relationship between Oman Mobile and Omantel? As for the services, what are the principal differences between the two? Are there any competing areas?

As a subsidiary of Omantel, our relation to the mother company -- a holding company -- is normal, governed by law and by requirements of the TRA. For example, we have interconnection services from Omantel, just as Nawras. We differ with Nawras in one aspect and, that is, we have agency services with Omantel, such as Omantel Customer Service Centers and Shops which sell our services and do some activities on our behalf. So, this is the extra value we get from Omantel.

Do you foresee any challenges for Oman Mobile in the short run? If so, how do you propose to meet them?
Currently, we face challenges of transformation from a government body that ran on a number of government processes and procedures to a fully private sector organization. The other external challenges relates to market dynamics. Since we have now allowed ourselves a certain pace to introduce new products and services, the challenge lies in sustaining the pace as well as sustaining the quality of services even as the number of customers grow and the market becomes more competitive.

What social responsibilities does the Oman Mobile shoulder besides sponsoring events like the Muscat Festival/Salalah Festival?

We have managed to become a household name not only because of branding but because of our interaction with society; we are there where people expect us to be. We have made a difference. We have been able to come to events and transform them into a more glamorous ones or into a more technological and innovative ones. For example, we introduced competition for the best picture send via MMS. Such efforts help in encouraging tourism by showing tourist areas to people who probably have never seen them. People were asked to vote through SMS for the best picture when the pictures were displayed on TV. The money we make through these competitions is channeled back into the festivals. Unlike other sponsors, we do not hand out cheques to the organisers. We try and be event partners and change the festivals in a very big way. From the first time we got engaged in promoting festivals, we changed the way the events are projected to the public. We let them follow the happenings at the festivals through their mobile phones. We got good response for our idea.

To show we were an innovative company, we started a competition for Sultan Qaboos University students. We asked young Omanis to come up with a theme for a mobile game. Then we made groups presenting their themes for the games and we had more than 500 people voting through SMS in a large theatre. When people saw a car racing, they sent lot of messages. The winning group won a trip to Shanghai and Amsterdam.

Oman Mobile now has the first Arab Middle Eastern games. Since the emphasis now is on promoting tourism, we created a game not of individuals fighting each other but one that projected Oman as a peaceful country. We created a treasure hunting game with forts and monuments modeled on our historic ones. Players would learn the name of the forts and what's inside them while seeking the treasures. We have 12 operators who want to have the game, which was created with help from the Chinese.

Will Oman Mobile be going for technological innovations in the near future? Is the 3G technology going to be introduced in Oman this year?

As you know, innovations must take into account a community's needs and the effects such changes will have on it. We do a market survey to identify such effects. We do not set a timeframe for products based on technological innovations but instead we set it on our subscribers' expectations or if it would generate more subscribers. We believe that many companies in the region have been on what I call the bleeding edge of technology. These companies seem to set their strategies on the new technology; it's like the scientists are setting the companies' strategies.

As for us, we want to be on the leading edge of technology. We look for the customers' expectations and then plan our services on available or proven technologies. This is why we have been very successful with all the products we have put out. We study the impact, value and relevance such products would have for our customers. We are not a technology driven company but a market driven one. 

Last year, we planned to go for 3G, but after surveying the market we came to the conclusion that 2005 would have been premature for 3G. As you know, it was a failure in UAE even though UAE is socio-economically different than ours. As most of the population there is a young foreign population, there are more yuppies than in the rest of the GCC countries. So, learning from UAE’s and other countries' experiences we decided not to introduce 3G in 2005.
We are currently doing another study and, depending on its results, we will decide whether or not to go for 3G this year. What we want is not the technology but the benefits it would have for our people. Since IT-literacy in Oman is growing rapidly, we will see what kind of products the banks and other players in the community are bringing out and how we can then carry those on 3G before we decide on a date for launching it.