71111111 is costliest at RO196,000

A special mobile phone number received the highest bid of RO196,000 at the two-day online auction which concluded here on Saturday.

Though not officially announced, the number — 71111111 — fetched the highest price at the auction of Special Gold and Diamond numbers of Omantel and Ooredoo. The bid closed at RO196,000.

Registrations for the auction began under the supervision of Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) on February 5, while the auction commenced at 10 am on February 8.

The auction was carried out by Omantel and Ooredoo on their 71111117 (RO31,500) 71777777 (RO16,900) 71717171 (RO13,800) 71117111 (RO7,600) 71711111 (RO6,500) 71111177 (RO3,500) 71733333 (RO3,450) 71117000 (RO3,400) 71140000 (RO1,850) websites.

In a statement, Mohamed bin Hamoud al Kindi, Executive Director, Regulatory and Compliance Unit, TRA, said one of the objectives is to limit the illegal trading of private numbers.

The bids started at RO100 for Diamond numbers and RO 75 for Gold numbers. The highest bidders were declared winners. They have to pay the amount within three days from the date of winning the bid.

If a bidder fails to pay the amount, the number would be given to the next highest bidder, provided the bid amount is not less than 75 per cent of the value of the first winning bid.

Proceeds from the auction will go to charity.