Oman’s internet subscription base grows by more than 10 per cent

age in the country. Renna has an arrangement to use their network and give a totally separate offering to our customer base. This began in Oman in 2009 and we are the first in the region to use this concept.

“The atmosphere in the country has also played an important role in helping Renna grow and get to where we are today,” he explained. “To compare with international markets, MVNOs have about 1718% market share, and no one has a share like that, with the exception of a few leading countries in Europe. Oman was the first country in the whole MENA region to have the concept of MVNOs in 2009. Oman was leading in this and it was the first country to have a successful model of MVNOs.”

“For Oman to be the first country in the region to successfully use this concept is great.”

Innovation, explained Haddadin, was at the forefront of any company across any field staying competitive, a fact that holds good in the telecom industry as well. In this context, Haddadin committed to always providing the best services to his loyal customer base in Oman.

“The first thing we did when we began was to conduct research to understand our customer base to see what they wanted, and on that basis, we asked them several questions, on the basis of this data, we developed our offering and gave them the service that we believe they want and they like,” he added. “10 years ago, the driver of mobile tech was the voice in terms of making local and international calls.

“SMSs were a big thing at the time, but since then, a lot of things have changed,” added Haddadin. “New players have come into the market. Since the arrival of services such as WhatsApp, social media and smartphones, operators have had to evolve with that and introduce new technology. In 2008, for example, when 3G had just come in, because the internet wasn’t as big at that time, operators were a bit doubtful about whether they needed to have this, but when 4G came, everyone went after it, and 5G is definitely going to be popular.

“This is because smartphones have evolved, and people now want speed and convenience,” he explained. “When the mobile industry started, we used to bundle a phone with a SIM card and sell it to the customer. All of this has evolved and everyone is more into smartphones. Smartphone penetration is now more than 84%. Look at the smartphone industry today. Everyone wants a smartphone today because it is a need.”

Other services Renna offered its customers were also designed to accommodate their needs, added Haddadin.

“We always to a lot of brainstorming and try to offer better plans for customers based on their behaviour,” he revealed. “For example, many of our customers are off on Friday and they make international calls to their home countries to talk to their families and loved ones, so we decided to have an off-peak offer where the call rates were lower, so people could be relaxed while talking to their families overseas.

“Another example would see us give a special offer for our networks at night, so that customers can use them more, because the networks are not used that often at night,” said Haddadin.

“The customers will benefit, so these ideas come from customer behaviour and from people within our team.

We try to give offers that customers need. They like our offers and that is why we have grown so much. We feel that our customers belong to the Renna brand so we try to speak their language.

Renna gives people good value for money. With smartphones, customers care about their data packages. We will definitely do something special for our loyal customers. To sustain 10 years of operations in a competitive market is great for us, so we have to pay them back.

Times News Service

MUSCAT: Oman recorded an increase of more than 10% in its internet subscription base at the end of May 2018.

According to the Monthly Statistical Bulletin released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), Oman’s total internet subscriptions stood at 387,689, up from 351,335 at the end of December 2017, reflecting a 10.3% increase.

The number of fixed broadband services which offer speeds of more than 256kbps stood at 385,350, while the number of narrowband subscribers (with speeds of less than 256 kbps) was about 2,339.

Post-paid mobile usage in Oman rose by 4.5% in the month of May according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information. New data released by the NCSI showed Oman had 679,974 postpaid Mobile users in May, up from 678,415 the month before.

Total Fixed Telephone Lines also showed an increase of 9.2 per cent, reaching 543,708 in May compared to 527,113 in April. Meanwhile, total mobile subscriptions in May fell 3.7 per cent to 6,686,814

The new figures further illustrate the exceptionally growth of telecommunications sector since the advent of the renaissance in 1970, forming a key portion of the nation’s efforts to boost connectivity, inclusiveness, and economic growth. At the heart of the Sultanate’s strategy to boost telecom usage are its 5-year plans, which created an ecosystem that allows mobile and internet use to thrive in the way it does today.

In 1976, communications infrastructure was adopted courtesy of Royal Decree No: 32/76. By 1990, the General Telecommunication Organization expanded the scope of the Public Telephone Service within Muscat and the governorates by installing additional 350 public telephones in addition to other expansions in the North and South of the Sultanate. This period of expansion continued from 1991-1995, a period that saw the growing development of telephone, Telex, Telefax, Global Networks, and ground stations services as well as the burgeoning rise of local Radio and TV programs.

Since then, telecommunications in Oman has grown by leaps and bounds, forming a key role of the Vision 2020 and 2040 policies. The use of new technology laid the foundation for the current digital landscape, widespread mobile phone and internet usage. Those developments were supported by the double station system, a new numbering plan, optical fibre cables, and the introduction of roaming data services as well as the launch of an Omani data centre.

By 2009, the e-Oman strategy would be adopted, paving the way for the comprehensive development basic telecommunications services for all residents of the Sultanate.

Commenting on this development, Raed Haddadin, CEO of Renna Mobiles, said: “People use prepaid lines because they want to control their budget, so if they want to spend maybe OMR10, for example, they will only spend within that limit, but a post-paid plan is normally open-ended because you pay for your service at the end of the month.

“Customers may prefer a prepaid line, but sometimes, operators will offer more services on a post-paid plan, just to encourage more people to take post-paid subscriptions and spend a bit more,” he added.

“If you don’t want to spend much, you might go for a pre-paid. Usually, you get more benefits with a post-paid plan.”