Info2cell.com and Mustafa Sultan Group tie up with Oman Mobile Telecommunications Co. to deliver value-added SMS services to subscribers in Oman

The agreement marks the launch of state-of-the-art 'HALA' SMS services in Oman, backed by the leading-edge technology and the regional experience of Info2cell.com which provides advanced information delivery services to several mobile operators across the Middle East. Mobile subscribers in Oman can now receive news updates, entertainment news, greetings, horoscopes and daily features like Joke of the Day, Quote of the Day as well as download of ring-tones. To subscribe to the new value added SMS services in the various channels of HALA , the mobile users will be required to send a special SMS command to 90011 , a short number provided by Oman Mobile.

'Having won the praise of mobile subscribers in several regional countries through partnerships with operators and service providers, Info2cell.com now brings its expanding portfolio of SMS services to the mobile phone subscribers of Oman,' said Bashar Dahabra, Founder and General Manager of Info2cell.com. 'We are delighted to partner with MST and Oman Mobile, one of the dynamic network operators in the region. Our expertise in the area of wireless information services will enable us to deliver high quality services to Omantel subscribers, apart from introducing more innovative more advanced features at a later date.'

Oman Mobile in the recent years has been the defining force in communications revolution in the region making by adopting state of the art in communications technology. The mobile phone market in Oman has seen new advancements with value added services such as SMS.

'The messaging function of mobile phones is among the most popular services with hip and advanced mobile users. Info2cell.com has integrated the world's most sophisticated technologies into its systems to consolidate its position as the region's most advanced wireless information service provider. Our editorial team is equipped to provide the most varied and up-to-date information to subscribers, including news alerts, sports updates and stock quotes. In addition, we are offering several fun services like ring-tones that will strongly appeal to the younger generation and people wanting more out of their mobile' added Dahabra.

'Messaging offers bright prospects because of the dramatic increase in the number of mobile phone users in the Middle East. According to market research figures, mobile phone penetration recorded a growth rate of over 10 per cent in 2003, compared to the increase in fixed lines of just 3.57 per cent. The number of mobile phone subscriptions in 18 Arab countries stood at 31 million at the end of June 2003, against the land-line subscriptions of 2.5 million,' said Dahabra.

'Our tie-up with Info2cell.com is a mutually beneficial one and is designed to provide optimum benefit to the end-user. The technological and regional knowledge of Info2cell.com and its familiarity and experience with cutting-edge communications technologies will add value to our experience in the Omani market,' said Minoo Saher, Group Chief Executive Officer, Mustafa Sultan Group. 'This tie-up will enable us, as well as, Oman Mobile to offer a wide variety of new and advanced mobile services to the Omani mobile users.'

Info2cell.com has been constantly upgrading its infrastructure to bring the latest messaging technology and content to the region's mobile phone users. It is already offering MMS services in some countries in the region. More recently, it launched the WASP (Wireless Application Service Provider) platform that uses cutting-edge mobile messaging technology to enable content providers to deliver messages and data to mobile phones, using SMS, MMS, WAP and Video. In addition the WASP platform supports content providers offering Ring-Tones, Picture Messaging and Java games. The service, based at Dubai Internet City, provides potential access to 31 million mobile phone subscribers in the Middle East.

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Editor's Note