Mobile customers delighted by all-new 'Shahry'

The renamed service - which means 'Monthly' in Arabic - has been fully transformed with a range of new features, designed according to feedback gathered from customers throughout 2008.

Customers no longer have to pay fees for Caller ID and Caller Forward services. Also, customers transitioning from the HALA pay-as-you talk service no longer have to pay a fee to convert to Shahry - pay monthly.

A major reduction that puts the sign-up fee for Shahry - pay monthly on a par with the HALA Pay As You Talk service.

The new features will make mobile phone use even more affordable for residents and are being provided for all existing customers free-of-charge. The price reductions are the first part of a planned wave of new innovations planned for the popular service, which aims to build the service around the lifestyles and needs of the people of Qatar.

Adel Al Mutawa, Executive Director of Group Communications, Qtel, said:

"Qtel is in the process of transforming all our services in Qatar, and the new Shahry - pay monthly service is the boldest example of a major reworking to date. We will continue to implement new features for our customers, to ensure that they have the kind of services they want at the kind of prices that they want."

All the new features were designed in response to one of the most thorough surveys of customer attitudes and expectations ever conducted within Qatar. Even the name of the service - Shahry - was shaped by feedback from Qtel's research program.

"Qtel is redesigning our services based on the wishes and expectations of our customers. They told us they wanted a new approach to postpaid mobile services, and we have delivered. Shahry - pay monthly is designed for the people of Qatar and by the people of Qatar, making it a unique offering in the telecommunications market," added Al Mutawa.

The new changes to the Shahry - pay monthly service are part of an ongoing wave of improvements planned for 2009.