Well after a couple of months of VIVA excitement building up across Kuwait and at ChillNite.com and with me, I had my last chance to opt for VIVA on 10th Jan. I had booked 2 numbers and they were good numbers. But after looking at user feedback, service charges, and service offerings, I decided that it was not exactly the right time to opt for VIVA.

VIVA charges are pretty much similar to what I currently pay at Wataniya. Their offer of unlimited talk after 5 minutes is not good enough for me as I don’t make long calls on my phone. Also if I do simple calculation then I would have to spend 150 fils per call to actually reach 5+ minute bracket. And if I make 10-12 calls per day like that it would cost me KD 1.5 at least per day. I am not blaming VIVA for this, but my usability is not in that bracket.

I was really hoping that VIVA would offer cheaper [competitive] offering(s) for internet connectivity, but again they are on par with expensive KD 27 for unlimited usage just like other telcos.

As for SMS, yes that is an issue because I send/get lot of SMSes from International numbers and from what I have heard from some users that International SMSes are currently not upto mark with VIVA [correct me if I am wrong here].

But one of the pressing reasons for opting out of VIVA is that the number change and updates to all my contacts to that effect is really going to affect me, and I cant afford that at this moment. I believe what we should now get from Zain, Wataniya, and VIVA is a collective effort for number portability. This would be good for all the telcos as it would give each one an edge over the other.

Overall I dont have anything against VIVA, and I will wait for more lucrative offer(s) till I decide to move over to VIVA. And I would definetly congratulate VIVA for changing the landscape of telco offering in Kuwait by introducing free incoming. Best wishes VIVA [for the time being]!