Also interesting is to look at neighboring UAE, and what "competition" has done in that market. It looks like both Etisalat and the new competition Du are pretty much owned by the same folks, and the end result is that there prices for certain services that are out of this world (I remember static IP addresses for hosting remaining exorbitant). This is after Du was launched with much fanfare as "competition". International calling rates are also huge in this age when bandwidth is so cheap, and all VoIP is actively blocked there.
Everybody welcomes competition. The whole discussion here is about how the new entrant is doing its thing. Even now after the big guy claimed they are transparent, look at the webpage http://www.vodafone.com.qa/go/en/getstarted/plans , where there is "*" against "Free Vodafone Minutes" where they make it clear that this promotion is till Dec 2009. But it does not say this is for calling Vodafone mobiles only ! Are we supposed to guess based on the name ? Looks like a case of "transparent cataract".
Vodafone will improve with time, but we just hope it does not become a replay of the UAE story. And we sure hope they talk less (rhetoric), and do more competing in terms of products and customer service. They have a unique opportunity to change the game forever.
Also interesting is to look at neighboring UAE, and what "competition" has done in that market. It looks like both Etisalat and the new competition Du are pretty much owned by the same folks, and the end result is that there prices for certain services that are out of this world (I remember static IP addresses for hosting remaining exorbitant). This is after Du was launched with much fanfare as "competition". International calling rates are also huge in this age when bandwidth is so cheap, and all VoIP is actively blocked there.
Everybody welcomes competition. The whole discussion here is about how the new entrant is doing its thing. Even now after the big guy claimed they are transparent, look at the webpage http://www.vodafone.com.qa/go/en/getstarted/plans , where there is "*" against "Free Vodafone Minutes" where they make it clear that this promotion is till Dec 2009. But it does not say this is for calling Vodafone mobiles only ! Are we supposed to guess based on the name ? Looks like a case of "transparent cataract".
Vodafone will improve with time, but we just hope it does not become a replay of the UAE story. And we sure hope they talk less (rhetoric), and do more competing in terms of products and customer service. They have a unique opportunity to change the game forever.