JEDDAH, 16 August 2003 — Women here admit that fierce competition for special cell phone numbers is costing money and taking up a lot of time. While some say they feel sorry for those who pay vast sums of money for phone numbers, others confess that the craze is sweeping them along too.
Men and women pay a lot of money for easy-to-memorize numbers for their mobile phone. It may take more than a few days to obtain the number, but customers are prepared to wait.
Some teenagers allege that everything is available in the black market from people who claim they have connections in the telecommunication companies.
Several young people told Arab News that these special numbers are necessary in order to be fashionable.
“I saved my money for several months so I could get the number I wanted. Once I had seen my friends’ and relatives’ numbers, I felt that I had to get one of my own to keep up with them,” Fahad said.
Salma agrees.
“And if you are very lucky and pay extra money, you can get a mobile number with 4 or more identical digits, like having the number end with five sevens.”
The phenomenon is not new. It began when, for business reasons, some people wanted easily remembered numbers.
The idea has now spread to doctors, those who travel in their jobs and others. For these people, there may be some real need but for many, it is simply a fashion.
“After all, people are free to do whatever they like with their own money. What they need to do is to think twice before they sign the check,” Molham, another young Saudi, said.
“I work and I have learned how hard it is to save money. I do not need to buy every new product that’s advertised or that comes into the market.”
