Operator Ooredoo Oman has launched its new Maktabi+ package for businesses. This “office in a box” package caters to the growing number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small offices/home offices (SOHOs) across Oman by providing them with unlimited internet on a 10 Mbps fixed line internet bandwidth with extra mobile lines. Available to new and existing customers on a one-year contract for OMR 50.00 (US $129.50) a month, Maktabi+ comprises a landline and four mobile lines, with included minutes, data and free calls between colleagues in addition to broadband internet. 

Tarifica’s Take

Small and medium-sized enterprises are a fertile and rapidly growing sector for telecom operators to court as subscribers and derive revenue from. Not only is the number of SMEs on the increase, but so is the prevalence of setups such as home offices and other unconventional workplaces. These need the essentials for operating a business—connectivity for cable internet and landlines on the one hand and mobile devices on the other. Oordeoo Oman is proposing to meet this need directly with its new targeted offer, the Maktabi+ package.

Ooredoo is well positioned to make this offer because it is both a mobile and fixed line operator (it is one of four MNOs in the country). While mobile voice, texts and data are of course essential to the operation of any company today, fixed broadband internet is also key and should not be left out of an SME package. The inclusion of landline phone is perhaps less necessary, but it is a convenience and connection to traditional ways of doing business that are still important to the functioning of many businesses. The fact that it must be very low-cost for the operator makes its inclusion an easy decision. The free calls between colleagues is a nice touch that should help sell the package, considering that the daily volume of calls within the organization, no matter how small, is likely to be relatively high.

We can imagine a couple of ways in which this offer could be improved. One is to increase the speed of the broadband internet, perhaps to 50 Mbps, as 10 Mpbs may seem a little low for some users. The other is to make the package expandable to allow for more than four mobile lines, as that number is also rather low even for a small enterprise.