Nawras delivers on promise of 100 roaming partners in 2005

Nawras has expanded its network of international roaming partners to cover more than 95% of Omani travel destinations, and at the end of 2005 Nawras had 102 roaming partners in 64 countries. The number of roaming partners is continuously growing, and during the first few days of 2006 another handful of operators have already been activated.

Commenting on the success, Sibel Gazozcu, Nawras International Roaming Manager, said, "At Nawras we are very target driven and delivering on promises is a vital part of our company culture. I am proud that we have reached the very aggressive target of having more than 100 international roaming partners by the end of 2005, and I and my team are looking forward to deliver our customers even more international roaming opportunities in 2006."

In addition, to delivering against the target for international roaming partners, Nawras has been the clear leader in bringing new and innovative roaming services to the mobile customers of Oman. Nawras was first to introduce Data Roaming where nawras Ajel postpaid customers can send/receive e-mails, download files or simply browse the Internet from their mobile phone, PDA or a PC with a Nawras data card, also while roaming abroad. In addition, they can also send and receive Picture Messages or access the Nawras mobile portal, nawras Zone, to read news or download other type of content. Initially, the Data Roaming service is available in the UAE and Turkey,with several new destinations being added in 2006.

For prepaid customers, Nawras has introduced a number of innovative roaming services during 2005. Nawras was first to introduce Callback Roaming, in which nawras Mousbak and nawras MousbakPlus customers already from launch could make calls in all Nawras' international roaming partner networks. Furthermore, nawras Mousbak and nawras MousbakPlus customers can also receive SMS and voice calls while roaming abroad, and since a few weeks they can also send SMS in all the networks of the more than 100 international roaming partners.

Nawras has already entered the next level of prepaid roaming by launching full Prepaid Roaming for nawras Mousbak/MousbakPlus customers - another first in the Omani mobile market. The Prepaid Roaming service enhances the customer experience and makes international roaming with nawras Mousbak/MousbakPlus just as convenient as with a nawras Ajel (postpaid) product. Through an extensive market research Nawras learned that Prepaid Roaming in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, was among the highest requests from the Omani population. Hence, these two countries were prioritized and have already been implemented, while a number of other countries will be covered during 2006.

Nawras customers are also offered a wide range of Value Added Services making internationally roaming more convenient. Through the free service Missed Call Notice, a Nawras customer will be notified through SMS of any calls they failed to answer due to unavailability even when roaming abroad. Or if the Voice Mail service is activated, Nawras customers can even allow callers to leave a voice message, in the case they are not able to answer the incoming call. Finally, Nawras prepaid customers running out of credit while roaming abroad, can ask family or friends back in Oman to transfer credit to their account, through the recently launched electronic Credit Transfer service for nawras Mousbak and nawras MousbakPlus, thereby ensuring an uninterrupted roaming experience.

Tore Solberg, Nawras Marketing Director, concluded, "We are extremely pleased to have paved the way to improve customer satisfaction for Omani mobile customers roaming abroad. Through our many 'firsts' during 2005, we have totally revolutionized the customer experience, and we have delivered what customers have wanted for years. It has been an extremely successful and rewarding launch year for Nawras, and we are proud of having delivered against our promise to offer Best Service, Best Quality and Best Value to the Omani population."