Muscat: Omantel has joined hands with Zain, a leading telecom operator in MEA, to launch Zain Omantel International (ZOI), a joint venture that is expected to become the Middle East’s premier international wholesale services provider.

ZOI aims to provide a distinguished series of international solutions and services that combine the best of Omantel and Zain Group across 8 countries and to more than 55 million customers.

It will raise the level of support and quality of service for customers in all global markets and meet the needs of the telecom sector in wholesale business in the Middle East and beyond. It will also provide services to international operators, data centers and content providers.

A joint press note also revealed that the new entity will be the first of its kind; it is expected to revolutionize the field of wholesale business in the telecommunications sector, by providing a series of solutions and services that combine the best of Zain and Omantel.

Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi, Vice Chairman and CEO of Zain Group, said, “The launch of the new company aims to build a prominent global entity in the field of wholesale business in the telecommunications sector, which will bring financial and commercial benefits to the Zain Group and Omantel.”

Talal bin Said Al Maamari, CEO of Omantel, pointed out that ZOI reflects the company’s continuous commitment to upgrade the wholesale business of the Omantel Group at the regional level and to become a prominent global provider in this sector. He added that the new company will constitute a gateway to globalization by combining the capabilities of Omantel and Zain Group.

ZOI will work in cooperation with both Zain Group and Omantel to ensure the continuity of their customers’ access to wholesale business services in a distinctive and advanced manner, which will include global access to the Internet, connectivity and voice calls, international roaming, text messages, and others.

The company will also undertake, along with its consortium partners, new development projects including ‘Blue-Raman’, ‘Africa 1’ and ‘Jeddah to Marseille Line’, as well as a wide network of land cables that will connect most of the regional countries to each other through networks.