The total number of subscribers of mobile resellers in Oman crossed the 500,000-mark in June, according to government data. Monthly figures on the Ministry of National Economy website show that subscribers of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) operating in the sultanate, which include FRiENDi, Renna, Halafoni and Samatel, stood at 503,911 at the end of June. The figures have crept up over the last three months from 485,908 in April to 488,807 in May from a December 2010 total of 459,159.
Antti Arponen, chief executive officer of FRiENDi, said that apart from the popularity of low-cost calls, more and more people are using MVNOs through word of mouth as customers realise the quality of service on offer. "People now have had enough time to test it out, and they have realised that it is a good quality service. Everybody is sceptical in the beginning, but now we have been in the market for two years and we have had almost 300,000 people use FRiENDi and realise that it is a good service.
"People have realised that we provide more than just cheap calls. We have Internet and we have call and SMS packages, as well as a number of features that nobody else offers. Now a sufficient number of people have tried it out, so it is as simple as that."
Senior staff from Renna were unavailable for comment, but statistics from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) also show the number of mobile subscribers for the resellers was 240,000 in 2009, which increased to 459,000 subscribers in 2010 and translates into a 91 per cent growth from the previous year.
In an e-mail reply to Muscat Daily, TRA said, "At the end of the first quarter of 2011 total market share captured by resellers stood at 12 per cent, which is an indicator of good performance. It will take some time to see the real success and growth of resellers and when they can reap the profits of their investments."
© Muscat Daily 2011
