New bill.

I checked my latest fixed line phone bill, and it was a shocker. The phone rentals have been increased from RO 3 to RO 4.9 from the month of August 2008. There is a catch: a ‘75 min free’ bonanza is offered along with the new tariff. This means, if I call a number in Musandam or Salalah or Muscat, I will be charged with the same rates unlike earlier where rates were based on how close the distance was from the telephone exchange through which the call was made. Fantastic!

An Omantel press release earlier said:

Saleh bin Abdullah Al Farsi, head of Marketing and Customer Service at Omantel, said that the new tariff for fixed line services was part of several plans designed by the company to develop its services in line with the current trends of liberalising the telecom market in the Sultanate as well as the impending competitive environment.

Most incumbents around the world have undergone similar rebalancing programmes. In view of the fact that Omantel is fully aware of market developments, it provides competitive rates and unique services to its customers.

“Omantel is keen to examine and assess all its telecom services. It always endeavours to satisfy the requirements of the age, and live up to the aspirations and expectations of its subscribers, especially as the next stage would see radical changes in the telecom world, where operators would compete to provide the best services. Therefore, Omantel hastened to introduce new local rates and to provide fixed line and the hi-speed ADSL internet services in one contract and one unified bill. It has also reduced international and long distance call rates. These measures conform to the company’s vision for the next stage and reflect the importance it attaches to its subscribers,” Saleh Al Farsi said. (more)

But consider my case. I don’t make many calls through landline, and I don’t have any friends in the interiors or in places like Sur or Sohar. So what benefit is the new facility offering me? Moreover, by default all subscribers have been put in the RO 4.9 category from the month of August which means you don’t have any option but to dance to the whims and fancies of ‘billing whizkids’ at Omantel. I don’t need the new service, but I still have to pay extra just because the new package is in place. Can it get more ridiculous than this?