FRiENDi mobile has received the final license from Oman’s ministry of transport and communication to serve as a new mobile telephony service provider in the Sultanate and is scheduled for launch later this year.

Mohamed Bin Yousuf Bin Alawi, chairman of FRiENDi mobile Oman said this was an exciting time for the residents of Oman.

"The government’s wise decisions towards further liberalising the telecom market and opening up for more providers will mean that the consumers will see a variety of new services and better prices."

"Because our technology allows us to use the existing networks, we will have an excellent coverage from day one. This approach will guarantee the quality of coverage, which, we believe, is the most important factor for any mobile user," bin Alawi noted.

FRiENDi mobile has actively prepared its Oman operation for the past two years. FRiENDi mobile is based in central Muscat in a newly constructed office capable of accommodating up to 100 employees.

"For months we have had our international team of mobile experts working in our Oman office setting up the infrastructure, products, sales outlets, and refining the marketing activities," he said.

"Now that the final licence is granted and our launch is getting closer, we are also becoming a major employer looking for young, dynamic individuals in Oman to join us from the very start of our exciting journey,” said Antti Arponen, CEO of FRiENDi mobile Oman.

“Just like has been the case in other parts of the world, the arrival of FRiENDi mobile will shift the market from a “one-size-fits-all” principle to a segmented market approach, with new targeted propositions for specific groups of customers,” Arponen observed.

“In Europe there are more than 200 mobile service providers which create a healthy and exciting market, and in turn lead to the consumers getting real service related benefits. As FRiENDi mobile is soon to be the new mobile service provider in Oman, we will bring some exciting new ideas that have not been seen before in this market.” he added.

FRiENDi mobile group is currently establishing its operations in 16 countries across the Mena region as what is known in the industry as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO).

The MVNO operational model, while new to the Middle East region, has been proven to deliver significant benefits to consumers, telecom operator partners and the general economic welfare of countries around the world.

"Oman is the first regional country to introduce the MVNO model in the mobile telecom sector, thereby providing benefits for all Oman’s consumers not yet available in other Middle East states, and FRiENDi mobile is proud to be the first company to launch this exciting new business model in the region," Arponen said.-TradeArabia News Service