ZAIN Group will pilot Rich Communications Services (RCS) under the “Joyn” initiative launched by the GSM Association in Zain Kuwait, with other operations to follow.



“Joyn” is a global initiative to deploy inter-operator RCS and Zain is gaining access to it through its relationship with Vodafone, with which it has a Partner Market agreement, making Zain Group the first operator to trial Joyn in the Middle East.



“Joyn” services enable customers to chat and enrich messaging or voice calls by exchanging images or video simultaneously during calls, in a private and secure manner, with any member of their contact list that has “Joyn”, regardless of the user’s network or mobile device.



Additional services such as voice over IP (VoIP) or IP-video call will be introduced in the near future. These services may be used on both the operators’ mobile networks and on Wi-Fi networks.



Zain Group CEO Scott Gegenheimer said the group policy to innovate means they are always looking to trends and developments in other parts of the world, in order to enrich the user experience in the markets in which Zain operate adding that “Joyn” will give customers a greater choice of communication possibilities without compromising the quality and security they have come to expect from their mobile operator.



Zain Group signed a partnership agreement with OSN, allowing Zain customers to gain access to premium and exclusive Arabic and English entertainment anytime, while the group stressed that it will continue to highlight its innovation and technology leadership. — SG