Wataniya Maldives has become the first operating company in Asia to transform into Ooredoo, adopting the new global brand of the Qatar-based telecom giant.

By adopting the brand, Ooredoo Maldives is demonstrating the strength of its connection with its customers and showcasing the “incredible” range of services available to people and businesses in the island nation.

The brand launch event was inaugurated by Maldives Minister of Transport and Communications Ameen Ibrahim and Ooredoo Group CEO Dr Nasser Marafih.

The event, which was broadcast live across the Maldives, was also attended by key officials and stakeholders of the company, along with senior community representatives.

Dr Marafih said: “We welcome our customers in the Maldives into the new world of Ooredoo. Ooredoo is a community-focused brand and we are committed to bringing our promise of human growth to our customers across the country.

“We strive to improve lives through mobile technology and we will be sharing the benefits of life-changing initiatives with our Maldivian customers. Maldives is our first operation in Asia to become one with our global identity, and this underlines how committed we are to this market.”

Ooredoo symbolises the company’s drive to support customers’ aspirations through mobile technology. Ooredoo has delivered a major network upgrade in the Maldives this year, launching the first and fastest-ever 4G network in April 2013, as part of a series of major enhancements planned for customers.

Ooredoo Maldives CEO Haroon Shahul Hameed said: “This is a proud and historic day for the Maldives. We are hosting the Asian launch of the new brand of the world’s fastest-growing communications company, and promising our customers that they will enjoy a world-class range of life-enriching services in the months and years ahead.  We believe that our services transform people’s lives, and we will use the energy of our new Ooredoo identity to make a real difference in our community.”

In addition to focusing its efforts on enhancing the customer experience with the introduction of a revamped portfolio of services, a new website with online account management, and the opening of the Ooredoo experience centre, Ooredoo will continue to build upon the company’s proud tradition of supporting community initiatives in the Maldives. Ooredoo has a number of on-going international partnerships in place set to add value in the country, including its relationship with the Leo Messi Foundation, which has seen the company bring mobile health clinics to towns and villages in Indonesia.

Ooredoo global brand ambassador and football hero Lionel ‘Leo’ Messi will be featured in the advertising campaign for the launch with the headline ‘Your world just got better’.

New promotion on mobile data scratch cards launched in Qatar

Ooredoo has launched a new promotion, offering 25% more data for free on all mobile data scratch cards until March 15.

Mobile data scratch cards offer customers more options, easy access and a more convenient way to top-updata for their mobile devices.

The original Ooredoo mobile data card, launched earlier this year, enables customers to extend their mobile data limit by 1GB, without eating into their existing credit. Available for just QR60, the card has proved to be one of Ooredoo’s top sellers in 2013.

Recently, in response to strong customer demand, Ooredoo has launched two new cards — the 3GB for QR80 and 6GB for QR100, to offer customers more choice and more data as they surf on Qatar’s most reliable network.

When customers activate the 1GB cards during the promotion, they will enjoy an additional 250MB for free. Customers using the 3GB card will get 750MB extra, while customers using the 6GB will get a massive 1.5GB more data for free.

The data will be valid for 30 days once activated, and customers can use more than one scratch card during the 30-day validity period.

A “great benefit” of the mobile data cards is that it enables customers to expand their Internet usage on a month-by-month basis based on how much they need, with no subscription or renewal fees.

To activate the mobile data cards, customers need only scratch off the panel to reveal their activation code and follow the simple instructions on the back of the card to redeem their data.

Demand for mobile data in Qatar has surged in 2013 since the launch of Ooredoo’s 4G network, which provides the fastest-ever mobile network speeds in Qatar.

As the first and only 4G provider in the country, Ooredoo continues to expand the range of mobile data services to enable as many customers to enjoy the benefits of the super-fast service.