PREMIUM POSITIONING
With Oman Mobile and Nawras competing in the BlackBerry market, customers can rest assured about better pricing and service coming their way in future, reports Mayank Singh

Walk into any conference hall or a business meeting and one is sure to see a number of BlackBerry smart phones on the table. One cannot fault customers wishing to brandish their BlackBerry’s as the device has acquired an iconic status worldwide. Oprah Winfrey, Naomi Campbell and Christina Aguilera are among a growing list of celebrities who have been hooked on to these smart phones. The growth of the BlackBerry market in Oman since Oman Mobile Telecommunications introduced the service in December 2007 has been nothing less than spectacular. In a short span of eight months over 200 corporations have started using the service. These include some of the biggest names in industry like Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), Oman Air, Bank Dhofar, BankMuscat, General Automotive Company, Oman Shipping Company, Assarain Enterprises and so on. Says Mostafa Ahmed Kombor, Corporate Sales Manager, Marketing and Sales Division, “this was possible because we were able to convince our corporate customers that the service added great value to their business.”

A BlackBerry service equips users with a fast wireless service, Internet access anywhere, multiple email accounts, access to company data, and a high-tech agenda organiser.

Two to tango
Sensing the potential in the market Nawras launched its BlackBerry Service on June 21, 2008. Nawras, though, has had Blackberry users on its network since it introduced data roaming back in 2005. The entry of the second mobile operator is expected to give a huge boost to the BlackBerry market. Says Ross Cormack, CEO, Nawras, “We have proved that the competition is good for the market as we have seen mobile penetration go up from 32 per cent when we entered the market to almost 100 per cent today.”

The two players are already rolling out the red carpet for customers. In order to make the Blackberry service more accessible and economical to business customers, Oman Mobile has introduced three different packages to suit different lifestyle and business needs – BlackBerry Lite, BlackBerry Unlimited Local, and BlackBerry Unlimited International. The BlackBerry Lite package offers a three MB usage at a cost of RO9.900 per month. The BlackBerry Unlimited Local gives subscribers the choice of unlimited local usage for a fixed monthly rate of RO18.500. The BlackBerry International package targets people who travel frequently and are interested in remaining connected while roaming. This service is available for a monthly fee of RO29.500 with unlimited national and international usage on BlackBerry APN.

Says Kombor, “These plans give subscribers the flexibility of choosing what suits them best. And since customers are at the heart of our mobile services, we continue to empower them with state-of-the-art services, a variety of choices, and exclusive benefits.”

Nawras has introduced with two subscription plans for Blackberry. One a national plan with 20MB free for only RO19 per month and a global plan with unlimited local data and free three MB of international roaming data for only RO29 per month. The company has also worked out segmentation based on the individual needs. Thus there is a BlackBerry Internet Solution for individual subscribers, SoHo (small office home office) and SME business. Second, there is a BlackBerry Enterprise Solution for corporate and BlackBerry Enterprise Solution Plus for corporates who want the best of the two service plans. Says Cormack, “We did not want to bring in a device but a service to the market so we looked at how people were using BlackBerrys and worked out solutions accordingly.”

Nawras has also been playing up its value added services that are available to it’s subscribers. Thus by paying a six month subscription of RO19 a customer can avail of WorldMate live Professional Travel organiser. The organiser allows subscribers to get travel related information like flight schedules, hotel bookings etc. BlackBerry Enterprise Solution Subscribers receive value adds like Holy Quran, Instant Messenger Plus, Financial Times News Reader, stock ticker and Viigo RSS Reader which gives news updates, weather reports, entertainment and sports news.

Taking off
Being the leading operator, Oman Mobile has acquired definite first mover advantage in the market. For example starting with three BlackBerry handsets in December 2007, the mobile service provider now offers subscribers seven devices to choose from. These include – the 8700g, Pearl 8100, Pearl 8120, Curve 8310, Curve 8320, 8800 and 8820. The price range starts from RO199 and goes upto RO279. Compared to this Nawras offers four handsets – the Pearl 8100, Pearl 8110, Curve 8310 and 8820. The entry level Pearl 8100 is priced at RO199 while the top end 8820 comes at RO279.

Oman Mobile is quick to point out that its 1800 GSM stations cover 95 per cent of the population in the Sultanate. Its coverage also includes international data roaming in 49 countries through its 91 partner operators. Nawras feels that its EDGE platform provides for better connectivity and its 100 partners in 60 countries gives BlackBerry subscribers more choices. As claims and counter claims fly around it is the customer who is going to be the final arbiter.

Catering to the high end of the market presents its own set of challenges like living upto the expectations of a demanding audience. Aware of this Oman Mobile and Nawras are working overtime on providing subscribers with best-in-class service. For instance, Oman Mobile has introduced a dedicated call centre for BlackBerry subscribers. So instead of dialing the usual 1234 call centre number subscribers can now dial 1235 to get their queries answered. Nawras has a 24/7 help desk and a BlackBerry trained engineer to take care of customer concerns.

The battle of the eye balls between the two has also been heating up. So, “the BlackBerry service ‘enables you to put your office in your pocket and always be connected wherever you are’.” Nawras is brandishing its ‘great connection’, ‘service and great value’ proposition. Both the companies are using multiple channels like newspapers, magazines, radio, direct mailers etc to get their message across.

Trickle down effect
Though BalckBerry’s started off as a device primarily meant for the corporate executives in its early years, the passage of time has seen the smart phone become popular amongst other customer segments. Says Kombor, “Our subscribers include youngsters and housewives.”

BlackBerry smart phones are emerging as an important revenue stream for both mobile telephone operators and they are leaving no stone unturned to attract subscribers. These efforts will lead to an expansion of the market and better facilities for customers.

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