Business | Telecoms
Nokia names BellTel as second distributor in Oman as demand for handsets soars
Prompted by the tremendous growth in mobile phone users in the country, Nokia, a leading handset maker, have appointed UAE-based BellTel as its second distributor in Oman.
- By Sunil K. Vaidya, Bureau Chief
- Published: 00:00 February 19, 2007
Muscat: Prompted by the tremendous growth in mobile phone users in the country, Nokia, a leading handset maker, have appointed UAE-based BellTel as its second distributor in Oman.
"Out present distributor here - Mohsin Haider Darwish - is doing well but the market is growing very fast in Oman thus we have decided to appoint another dealer," said Iyad Issa, Nokia Area Manager for the Middle East, during a press conference at the Barr Al Jizza Resort and Spa yesterday.
In reply to a question, Iyad stressed that there was certainly a big enough market for two Nokia distributors to co-exist in Oman. "With two operators providing services in Oman, the demand for handsets has grown in the last two years," he said.
BlackBerry service
The newly appointed distributor, BellTel, will start with three outlets in the capital area and then open another in Salalah. "Our aim is to spread our network to every region but that would happen gradually," said Malik Al Khalidi, Director of BellTel.
Talking about the growth in mobile phone users, Talal Al Rahbi, Omanmobile's Manager of Product Development, said: "We have 1.2 million subscribers and it is growing each day."
He said competition, Nawras, in the mobile phone sector had spurred the growth and with their services and wider reach Omanmobile had continued to expand its market. "Our service reaches over 95 per cent of the country's population," he said.
Al Rahbi also revealed that Omanmobile will soon introduce BlackBerry in the country. "I cannot give a time frame but we will soon introduce BlackBerry service in the country."
The senior Omanmobile official also said that they were in negotiations with BellTel to provide Nokia phones with their packages.
"Negotiations are still on and once finalised we will make announcement."
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