Mobile Phone Usage Behavior of University Students in Oman

The purpose of this paper is to study the mobile phone usage behavior of university students in Oman. A survey was conducted in Muscat and Sohar cities of Oman where 200 students were contacted using questionnaires and interview methods. Students in higher educational institutions were covered and hypotheses about mobile services usage among students were formulated and tested on different aspects of mobile phone use. It was realized that Oman is very close to secure 100% penetration in mobile adoption and newer mobile technologies are available. Mobile usage related statistics revealed that a majority of students prefer to have prepaid connections, spend more than 10 Omani Rials per month on services, make less than 10 calls but more than 10 SMS per day, and depend on their parents for payment of bills. Nokia is the most popular handset brand among students and they tend to change handsets at least in a year. It was significantly tested true that students have higher affinity to buy top end mobile phones, they feel uncomfortable without mobile phones, they keep their mobile phone switched on 24 hours, and they are equipped with almost every feature in their mobile.