Monthly Archives: June 2008

Bad driving as Olympic sport

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If bad driving was turned into an Olympic sport, Abu Dhabi would be going for gold and Oman for a bronze. Silver is up for grabs!
Colin Randall writes in The National:
Driving here also feels a lot safer than being driven, though you need more pairs of eyes than ­nature intended. Virtually no one bothers to indicate, unless for ­manoeuvres already completed. Pulling out from side streets, forcing oncoming vehicles to brake, is de rigueur. Each lane of the highway is seen as a legitimate one from which to turn left, even if it means cutting up two lines of traffic heading straight on. Lunatics tear up behind you, lights flashing, intent on barging you out of their way. And weaving aggressively in and out of lanes is so commonplace that you feel it’s compulsory.

Stingy Omantel

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If you have noticed, Omantel spends a fortune on its outdoor and print advertising campaigns. Dumb hoardings with stupid lines have become their hallmark. People at helm have the knack of netting PYTs (pretty young things) as models for their campaigns. They keep an eye on local magazines to shortlist models. A majority of these PYTs are expats too.

And, how much do you think these models are getting paid for their efforts? Don’t fall off the chair. RO25 plus lunch a day! This is pittance considering the prevailing international standards. High time a professional modeling agency sets up shop in Muscat.

FRiENDi mobile launch later this year

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It’s official now. FRiENDi mobile, the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), will commence operations in Oman later this year. FRiENDi mobile has received the final license from Ministry of Transport and Communication as a mobile reseller, and plans to become the new mobile telephony service provider in the Sultanate.

It is learnt that FRiENDi mobile has actively prepared its Oman foray for the past two years. The company will be based in Al Khuwair in a newly constructed office capable of accommodating up to 100 employees.

Says Antti Arponen, CEO of FRiENDi mobile Oman, “Just like has been the case in other parts of the world, the arrival of FRiENDi mobile will shift the market from a “one-size-fits-all” principle to a segmented market approach, with new targeted propositions for specific groups of customers.”

“In Europe, there are more than 200 mobile service providers which create a healthy and exciting market, and in turn lead to the consumers getting real service related benefits. As FRiENDi mobile is soon to be the new mobile service provider in Oman, we will bring some exciting new ideas that have not been seen before in this market,” added Arponen.

PS: First, Oman Mobile, then Nawras, and now FRiENDi mobile…the more the merrier for us. But, honestly, with so much competition I would like to witness a price war happening over long distance calls.


UPDATE: Antti Arponen, CEO of FRiENDi mobile Oman, organized a press conference in Muscat today (June 28) only to say, “I can’t reveal anything” to questions posed by members of the media. Our little birdie ponders: If they don’t have to say anything, why did they want to meet the press. PR Momentum, the public relations agency handling the FRiENDi mobile account in Oman, needs to get its act together. For PR lessons, keep any eye on Nawras. They get it right nine of ten times.

Related link:
FRiENDi mobile to launch in Oman soon
What is MVNO?

RIP, dear friend

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Sleepless in Muscat (SIM) is no more. The 29-year-old Omani blogger from Muscat was a regular columnist with us for over a year, and I have interacted with SIM on many occasions. Quite an enthu guy, SIM would write columns as per the deadline, and nine out of 10 times he would be early in submitting his column. I found SIM to be a person who could be mature and immature at the same time. He would write bold columns much to our discomfort at times. Many a times he would raise objections to certain editing we used to make in his columns. SIM even objected to using his real name in my blogroll, and finally I had to knock it off. Once he confided in me that one day we would like to write for international newspaper like The New York Times. How I wish I knew the pain (chronic illness) SIM was going through all these years. I would have made him feel comfortable by whatever way I could. Words are failing me right now…my eyes are moist…

India musings

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I was never a great fan of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the state-owned telecom company, all this while. Bad customer service, arrogant employees were hallmark of BSNL for quite sometime. But last week’s experience has made me think otherwise. I had purchased an internet connection for my laptop, and inspite of many efforts, I was unable to connect to the net. I called the customer support, and the man on the other end tried to fix the issue, but it didn’t happen. Finally, he requested me to get the laptop to their office so that he could help me get connected. I went to their office and to my pleasant surprise the engineers fixed the issue in no time. I am thrilled at the level of customer support BSNL offers, at least in my hometown.
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Thanks to $135 per barrel oil, petrol and diesel prices shot up in India by a huge margin a couple of days back. A litre of petrol costs Rs. 58.50 (Omani Rial = 600 baisas) now. So much so that going to a gas station is turning out to be a nightmare for motorists. Folks back home have a suggestion for me. From next year they have asked me to get petrol instead of the regular gifts. Wish I could do that. When I say petrol costs a little over Rs. 11 a litre in Oman, people gawk.

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A couple of days back, I tried connecting to my old friend who was into marketing in Bangalore. After I landed in Oman, our contact was reduced to a couple of mails. Now he has turned an entrepreneur, and has nine people working for his company which is into application development, web development, etc. His office is located in the plush MG Road in Bangalore which itself is an achievement. He also said he got a Rs. 1 crore (RO 100,000) takeover offer from an NRI in United States who wants 67% stake in his company. But the proposal was rejected. My friend cajoled me to come back to Bangalore and start something on my own. For starters, he said his initial budget for his own venture was a mere Rs. 20,000 (RO 200). That’s pure guts I must admit. Unlike majority, I am firm believer in 60:40 theory.

Success = 60 percent hard work + 40 percent luck.

On road

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I have travelled 1,800 kms plus by road for the last two weeks or so. I must admit it is kinda tiring to travel on Indian roads, which at some stretches have roads amidst potholes instead of the locally accepted potholes amidst roads.

Appeasing gods

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Once in five years, our family conducts therey (an art form of appeasing gods, goddesses and ancestors). This time it happened while I was at my ancestral place a couple of weeks back. The proceedings begin in the night and go on till the next day evening with over 10 different enactments (performances) to appease the gods and ancestors. Therey is an occasion for the family members to witness the performances and also seek divine interventions for their problems. Accompanied by the drumbeats (called chende in local parlance), the colourfully dressed performers with painted faces dance rhythmically and instill a sense of divinity among the gathered crowd.