Friendi Mobile counts 100,000 subscribers in Oman

Mikkel Vinter, CEO of Dubai-based MVNO Friendi Group today announced that the service provider has reached 100,000 subscribers in Oman, just six months after commercial launch at the end of April this year.

In August, Vinter told Comm. that within two months of launch in Oman, Friendi Mobile added 50,000 subscribers. The significance of this progress can be brought into better focus when comparing the entrance of Friendi Mobile with the last time a new player launched in the Omani market. Nawras, Oman’s second licensed telecom provider launched as a mobile player in March 2005, when mobile penetration stood at around 35 per cent. Despite the easier competitive landscape at the time, it took Nawras two months to reach the 50,000 subscriber milestone; the same amount of time it took Friendi Mobile in an environment of 120 per cent penetration and three other competitors.

“We crossed 100,000 subscribers in Oman last week, which is equal to three per cent market share,” Vinter said this afternoon, speaking at the North Africacom conference in Cairo. “I am very happy with this achievement compared to international MVNO benchmarks and our own targets,” he added.

Friendi Group has plans to introduce other MVNO operations in markets across the Middle East, Asia and Africa, and is believed to be close to reaching an agreement with Jordan Telecom to establish an operation in the country. Friendi Group already possesses a license to offer reseller services in Jordan.