Nawras 'first' gives regular updates to help customers stay in control of data spend when travelling

Muscat, 19 May 2012 - Nawras, Oman's customer friendly communications provider, is delighted to announce another 'first' with the introduction of a free SMS notification service to show data usage when roaming.  Nawras Ajel (postpaid) customers are now able to closely track data roaming usage while travelling outside the Sultanate which makes it much easier to stay in control of international roaming charges.

Data roaming charges vary from country to country and in the past customers have sometimes found it difficult to keep track of their spend while on the move abroad.  Now with this convenient, new service from Nawras giving regular free SMS updates, the guesswork is taken out of data roaming.

When travelling in another GCC country using SmartRoamer, customers will receive a notification when they have consumed the first 20 megabytes (MB) of data and then further notifications for every subsequent 5MB they use.

Customers roaming in the GCC countries of United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are able to enjoy SmartRoamer rates for data as well as calls and SMS.  Choosing the SmartRoamer partner in any of these countries gives customers the low rate of RO 1.199 per MB of data.

When using non-SmartRoamer operators or when travelling outside the GCC, the data notification will be received after the first 10MB of data has been consumed and then a further SMS will be sent by Nawras for every additional 5MB used.  When roaming with Nawras partners, the corresponding data tariff will also be shown to help customers estimate their bill as they travel.

Nawras Chief Executive Officer, Ross Cormack, said, "We continue to live the customer experience in every aspect of our business and we constantly look for new ways to make communication even easier to use.  Our customers asked for more control over their data roaming charges and in answer we have developed this new notification service.

"We are now sending convenient reminders to give Nawras Ajel customers closer control over their telecom spend when travelling and we are excited to be first to offer this greater transparency as part of our commitment to be caring, excellent and pleasingly different." 

This new roaming usage notification has been driven by Nawras people who share a singular focus on improving customer experience. Using the combined expertise of engineering, IT, international roaming and customer service, this convenient tool was developed to give customers added confidence and peace of mind when using international roaming.

Nawras:
Omani Qatari Telecommunications Company SAOG was founded and registered in the Sultanate of Oman in December 2004. It launched its service in March 2005 as the challenger mobile operator in Oman operating under the name Nawras. Nawras was awarded the second fixed licence in Oman in 2009, and launched its international gateway in April 2010, its corporate fixed and broadband services in May 2010, and its residential fixed and broadband services in June 2010. Since 2010 Nawras has been an integrated services telecommunications operator and is currently serving around 2 million customers across the Sultanate. Following a successful IPO, Nawras is listed on the Muscat Stock Market (MSM) under the "nwrs" ticker since 1 November 2010.  Nawras is majority owned by the Qtel Group and also has a number of significant Omani shareholders which ensures that the company is strongly integrated into the Omani society. Nawras has won a number of awards including Customer Service Excellence Award in Telecom Sector 2012 from Oman Customer Care Conference, Innovation in HR Strategy 2011 from Asia's Best Employer Brand Awards, Outstanding Leader from TMT Finance Middle East 2011, Best IPO in the Middle East from emeafinance magazine and Strategic Leadership Award from Global HR Excellence Awards 2011.

About Qtel Group:
The Qtel Group is a leading international communications company, with a significant presence in the MENA region and Southeast Asia, and having a consolidated customer base of 83.4 million as of December 2011. It operates a portfolio of brands including Qtel, Indosat, Asiacell, Wataniya, Nawras, Nedjma and Tunisiana.

The Qtel Group's principle activities are mobile telephone services, broadband solutions, digital futures and fibre technologies, serving both consumer and business markets. Headquartered in Doha, Qatar, Qtel Group is ambitiously growing its global business on the basis of its insights into the needs of customers in emerging markets. Qtel Group's ultimate parent company is Qatar Telecom (Qtel) Q.S.C., whose shares are listed on the Qatar Exchange and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

For further information please contact:
Julie Amann
Press Manager
e-mail: julie.amann@nawras.om
+968 9510 3669

© Press Release 2012