Barcelona, Spain
XIUS-bcgi, a leader in delivering innovative, revenue-generating solutions to mobile operators and MVNOs worldwide, and International Agencies Company Limited, INTERCOL, a Bahraini based diversified conglomerate with over 50 years of business, announced that Zain Bahrain has deployed XIUS-bcgi's InstaRoam product to provide roaming service for start-up mobile operators and to enhance its roaming services. Zain Bahrain is part of Zain Group, a leading wireless service provider in seven Middle Eastern and 15 sub-Saharan African countries. The operator currently provides services to more than 42 million subscribers.
XIUS-bcgi's InstaRoam offers instant roaming access with a single agreement into more than 500 networks in more than 250 countries. The solution eliminates complex testing procedures and the need for securing operator agreements, and its dual-IMSI architecture gives customers a global roaming footprint. Competing roaming technologies normally take several man years to build, inevitably leading to subscriber churn and loss of revenue. With InstaRoam, operators are able to deploy roaming capabilities within a matter of weeks.
Intercol has partnered with XIUS-bcgi to cover three geographies namely kingdom of Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
"It is our mission to provide world-class, high-quality mobile services to each of our subscribers worldwide, and we pride ourselves in giving customers seamless connectivity no matter their location," said Dr Ahmed Al Shatti, chief operating officer of Zain (Bahrain). "To fulfill our quality guarantee, we partner with only the industry's top solutions providers. XIUS-bcgi is supplying the technology and support we require to maintain our reputation for quality and innovation."
"EMEA continues to be one of the world's fastest growing regions for mobile services, and Zain Bahrain marks an important deployment in this critical region," said Ersin Galioglu, chief operating officer of XIUS-bcgi. "It is a true testament to the quality of our solutions and support to be chosen by such a major player in this region."
About Zain Group
Zain (formerly MTC) is a leading emerging markets player in the field of telecommunications aiming to become one of the top ten mobile groups in the world by 2011 in terms of market capitalisation. Zain was established in 1983 in Kuwait as the region's first mobile operator. Since 2003, it has grown significantly becoming the 4th largest telecommunications company in the world in terms of geographic presence with a footprint in 22 countries spread across the Middle East and Africa.
As of 8 September 2007, Zain became the company's new corporate master brand name. Currently, the company is present in 7 Middle Eastern and 15 sub-Saharan African countries with over 15,000 employees, providing a comprehensive range of mobile voice and data services to over 42.5 million active customers (as at 31 December 2007).
In the Middle East, the company operates under the brand name Zain in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and Sudan. In Lebanon, the company operates as mtc-touch. Zain plans to commence operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2008.
In Africa, Zain operates under the Celtel brand (www.celtel.com) in 14 sub-Saharan African countries namely: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The company's mobile telecommunications operations in Ghana will begin in 2008.
The Zain brand is wholly owned by Mobile Telecommunications Company KSC, which is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (Stock ticker:ZAIN). The company had a market capitalization of over US$26.5 billion on 31 December, 2007.
About Intercol
From modest beginnings in 1957 representing a single shipping company, Intercol is today a well-diversified, 100%-Bahraini-owned company representing over 200 leading corporations. It is headquartered in Bahrain with regional offices at Dubai, Qatar and Kuwait.
Built on firm foundations, good customer relations, constant attention to detail and the professionalism of its well-trained and qualified workforce, Intercol continues to ensure it keeps abreast of the needs and demands of the market through the introduction of new products, processes and advanced technologies. To enhance the confidence of principals and customers alike, Intercol became the first company of its kind in Bahrain to attain ISO 9001:2000 certification company-wide and ISO 14001: 1996 accreditation in recognition to the environmental, health and safety standards adhered to.
Over the years Intercol has achieved sustained growth through diversification and continues building on its experience to further enhance the growth of the company. The company's businesses now span across: consumer goods; (for which it maintains one of the most technologically-advanced dry, chilled and frozen goods warehouses in the region); shipping and forwarding; transportation and logistics; telecommunications and information technology; medical equipment and supplies; lubricants and chemicals; air conditioning and refrigeration; water treatment and insurance. For more information please visit www.intercol.com.
About XIUS-bcgi
XIUS-bcgi (a division of Megasoft Limited, BSE Code No.: 532408) is a leader in delivering innovative revenue-generating solutions to mobile network operators and MVNOs worldwide. With 500+ employees, XIUS-bcgi architects infrastructure and mobile solutions that are flexible, scalable and robust - clearing the way for mobile operators to rapidly deliver differentiated services in order to gain first mover advantage and build subscriber loyalty. XIUS-bcgi currently supports more than 100 installations throughout the world, and its customers include leading mobile operators such as Sprint, Telefonica, Etisalat, Embarq and Hutch. For more information, please visit www.xius-bcgi.com.
Source: Business Wire (Business Wire India)