Qtel has said its Shahry – pay monthly value packs offer “exceptional affordability and flexibility” to customers than the second mobile operator - Vodafone, according to a comparative study. The study, Qtel says, shows that customers using Shahry’s value packs can benefit significantly compared to customers using price plans from other companies in the Qatar market, and even compared to customers for Qtel’s Hala prepaid service. Shahry value packs are personalised plans made up of inclusive local minutes, SMS, MMS and megabytes (MB) download for which customers pay less than standard Shahry rates. “Customers using the Hala service who spend more than QR130 or QR200 a month will benefit by switching over to the more adaptable pay monthly options offered by Shahry value packs because of the enhanced services they provide. Shahry also offers great value compared to the new Flexi plans available in Qatar,” Qtel said. In particular, the mid-range of value packs offer “cheaper prices and more usable” talk minutes, Qtel said. Shahry 200 provides 600 call minutes, 60 SMS, 30 MMS and 2MB of Internet downloads. ‘Hala Pay as You Talk’ customers spending the equivalent amount in the same time period get 300 minutes, 50 local SMS and 16 local MMS. “In a head-to-head comparison with Flexi 220, Qtel customers pay 10% less and get 11% more minutes, along with a wider range of SMS, MMS and data,” Qtel said. “In addition, the Shahry 300 and Shahry 575 value packs also offer a range of call minutes (1,000 minutes for Shahry 300 and 2,000 for Shahry 575), SMS (100 for Shahry 300, 200 for Shahry 575), up to 100 MMS and 10 MB of Internet download as part of the respective packages,” Qtel said. One free number also provides additional value for Shahry 300 and Shahry 575 value packs, enabling customers to call one number for free for life. Qtel has also built-in a rollover facility, so that customers can still deploy unused minutes as part of the next month’s allowance. If people exceed their limit, they are charged normal Shahry rates, of Dh35 for peak and Dh30 off-peak respectively. The standard Shahry package, which does not have built-in call minutes and 3G services, is still available at the low price of QR50 per month, and customers can pay using cash, credit or direct payment at Qtel shops, self service machines and the online e-Qtel service. If a customer chooses to pay QR300 upfront for a year subscription, this rate decreases to QR25 per month, Qtel said. Adel al-Mutawa, Qtel executive director (Group Communications), said: “Qtel’s continued objective is to provide our customers with convenient value added services, and offering value packs for Shahry has proven to deliver real value for our customers. Our heritage as a company has been built upon providing affordability for our customers, and now – through direct comparison with a new entrant in the market – customers can measure the value for themselves”. http://gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=302927&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16 ILQ will be doing it's own comparitive study soon for an unbiased opinion.

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