MUSCAT: Nawras, the Omani affiliate of Qatar Telecommunications Co (Qtel), has won a licence to set up Oman’s second fixed-line network, a source at Nawras told Reuters on Tuesday.

The award ends the monopoly of state-run Oman Telecommunications Co as the Gulf Arab state liberalises the sector as part of efforts to encourage foreign investment to counter falling oil production.

The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to discuss the issue with media. Officials at the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority could not be reached, but a government source confirmed the report to Reuters.

A source said Nawras had been the top choice of TRA among the bidders from day one, and it came as a surprise when Awaser Oman-PCCW Consortium was awarded the licence initially.

Slightly off topic. I have come across a company by name “Nawras Tours and Travels” in CBD. I am pretty sure they don’t have any link to the original Nawras, the telecom company. Why don’t people care for trademark here? It takes a fortune to build a brand, and one fine day someone steals the name for a different business. Really miserable. Why don’t anyone name their business after Omantel? Like “Omantel Tours and Travels” or “Omantel Multicuisine Restaurant”. If you try to order a takeaway from “Omantel Multicuisine Restaurant” during Eid holidays, probably you might end up hearing: “The restaurant is closed for a week, please try later.”

The first showers of the season were witnessed today as places in Seeb and Al Khuwair experienced slight drizzle around noon. Normally Muscat receives moderate to heavy showers during the months of December, January and February, and last year was the only exception with Gonu doing all the damage in the month of June itself.

VLCC, which provides slimming, hair and skin services for men and women in Oman, has decided to observe November 26 as Anti-Obesity Day.

Joining hands with VLCC in their fight against obesity will be fast food chains like McDonald’s and KFC which have decided to close their outlets for a day so that junk food addicts could take a well deserved break. A spokesperson for McDonald’s refuted rumours on McDonald’s closing shop for a day to help obese people avail VLCC offer.

“We have been providing junk food services to clients in Oman for a few decades now, and shall continue to serve them till our last breath… or theirs…whichever is closer. Taking our customer service to the next level, we have provided drive-thru services for obese customers who feel tired waiting at counters during peak hours,” the spokesperson added.

Ok, fine, I made up the last two paragraphs.

Seriously, VLCC is a marketing whiz kid. They’ve ‘milked’ customers in India and UAE all these years, and now they are in Oman. Given the love people have for looking good, I am sure they will have an impressive client list in Oman as well.

A report says:

The Sultanate has welcomed the US decision to remove it from a certain list in the report on human trafficking by the State Department. Deputy US Secretary of State John Negroponte has received a written message from HE Sayyid Badr Bin Hamad Bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, Secretary-General at the Foreign Ministry, that included the Sultanate’s welcoming of the US president’s decision to cancel the statement about the Sultanate cited in the US Department of State’s report on human trafficking and removing its name from the third category in that report.

The report had accused the GCC governments of failure in preventing human trafficking and meeting the relevant international standards. The most shocking part of the report was that the Sultanate was ranked in the third category making it liable for US sanctions.

The action is not reflecting in the US State Department’s website though.