Qatarnet price cuts prompting 2,000 new users a day

Qatar’s monopoly cellco Qatarnet says that it expects to see mobile penetration reaching 75% in the near future following unprecedented take-up of its pre-paid packages, currently being offered at a 40% discount. The operator, a wholly owned subsidiary of national PTO Q-Tel, says it is signing up an average 2,000 new customers a day since it slashed the cost of its two pre-paid tariffs, Hala Talk and Hala Plus, at the end of last month. Earlier this year Q-Tel pledged to spend QAR800 million (USD220 million) on upgrading its wireless network, saying it intends to achieve 100% cellular penetration by the end of 2007.