Qtel & Virgin Group launch Virgin Mobile Qatar
- May 13, 2010
Qatar woke up to an exciting new dawn in mobile services today, when Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group companies, launched Virgin Mobile in Qatar in a brand partnership with Qtel.
Virgin Mobile Qatar, which is available from today, brings a fun new service to Qatar, offering great value, unbeatable coverage, and the exceptional customer service for which Virgin is famous around the world. The service will be Qatar’s first youth-focused mobile offering, delivered by Virgin Mobile in a brand partnership with Qtel.
As part of a range of new products launched today, Virgin Mobile Qatar will offer a prepaid mobile service that combines the coverage and call quality benefits of Qtel’s mobile network with the unique brand experience delivered by Virgin Group.
The launch was announced at a special opening ceremony that marked the start of an action-packed day, which saw Sir Richard arrive at the head of a V-formation fleet of jetski riders, blazing a trail along the curve of the Corniche, before landing at the world-famous Museum of Islamic Art in Doha.
The service has been designed to be open, fun and simple to use, and will be supported by a range of retail stores, a new, dedicated contact centre in the heart of Doha, as well as an online community at the Virgin Mobile Qatar website.
Welcoming Virgin Mobile to Qatar, Dr. Nasser Marafih, CEO, Qtel, said: “We are pleased and proud to welcome Sir Richard Branson and the Virgin Mobile brand to Qatar. Our alliance will have an important impact here in Qatar, and we see strong potential for development as a multi-country brand franchise partnership across our regional and international footprint. For Qtel, this marks another important step forward as we develop our brand strategy and our overall business plan to become one of the top 20 global telecommunications operators by 2020. For the people of Qatar, it adds a fantastic new choice and a whole new communications lifestyle.”
Virgin Mobile Qatar will offer one of the most advanced prepaid mobile services in the region. The service offers a simple all-day tariff, sweeping away the confusion of peak and off-peak rates and also provides 180-day airtime – the longest-lasting mobile airtime validity in Qatar.
Built around a clear concept – the more you talk, the less you pay – Virgin Mobile Qatar promises to provide a great value, flexible service that everyone in Qatar can enjoy. Local calls will cost just QR 0.55 per minute for the first five minutes each day, and QR 0.30 per minute after that. Mobile Internet will cost just QR1 per megabyte – the best value in Qatar.
Ed Jennings, Head of Virgin Mobile Qatar, commented: “Virgin Mobile Qatar is a pioneering new kind of mobile service. We will be giving customers in Qatar what we know they have been calling for – a simple, honest, easy-to-use mobile experience with unbeatable coverage, great customer service, and a whole load of fun extras.”
With today’s launch, Virgin Mobile Qatar will be the eighth Virgin Mobile branded operation in the world, following on from launches in the UK, Australia, USA, Canada, France, South Africa, and India.
To mark the historic launch, Virgin Mobile Qatar will host a wide range of special events and activities across Doha. From today, branded red doors have been placed around key sites to announce that Virgin Mobile Qatar is ‘Open for Business’, and Virgin Mobile Qatar kiosks are being set up across Doha.
In addition, Villagio and Landmark malls will host special events, competitions and activities throughout the weekend and over the coming weeks.
The full range of Virgin Mobile-hosted events, alongside other events in Doha, will be publicised on the Virgin Mobile Experience Map on the Virgin Mobile Qatar website. The Virgin Mobile Experience Map is an animated, interactive, multimedia map which provides detailed information on all of the events that will be happening in Qatar in the forthcoming weeks and months.
