Zain Kuwait and Huawei successfully test first Voice Over LTE mobile call in Kuwait

Press release

Published June 30th, 2014 - 08:41 GMT

Al Bawaba

With the aim of improving customer experiences across the region’s telecommunications landscape, Zain Kuwait, the leading telecommunications provider in the country, and Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, have announced the first successful test in Kuwait of connecting a mobile call through Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) technology.

In partnership with Zain, Huawei experts and customers attended the live experience to test VoLTE’s superior calling experience while also sharing the latest advancements on mobile voice technology in the lead up to Zain Kuwait releasing commercial VoLTE in the future.

The potential of VoLTE technology has many benefits to Kuwaiti customers. It enhances the customer experience overall with clear HD voice and low latency. The other benefits include a Mean Opinion Score (MOS) higher than 4.1 which allows a customer to be able to hear better and feel closer to the person on the other side. The call setup of VoLTE takes only about one second while Huawei’s eSRVCC solution enables a handover time of less than 250ms. Huawei’s leading VoLTE solution and unique CaaS strategy towards richer communication services was further previewed as part of the demo.

Omar Saud Al Omar, Chief Executive Officer of Zain Kuwait said: “The successful commercial trial of the country’s first VoLTE trial is proof that Huawei’s leading solutions improve our customers’ confidence for the upcoming Zain Kuwait launch of the VoLTE business. It is an important milestone, which will translate into providing enhanced mobile broadband to our customers across Kuwait and an opportunity to enjoy unparalleled communication services.”

Mohammad Sharara, President of Huawei Zain Key Account said: “New innovations in mobile broadband are increasingly shaping the future of Kuwait’s telecom market. These technologies are now seen as major enablers of continued economic and social development. Huawei is committed to extending its partnership with Zain to bring ground-breaking communications services to customers across the Middle East.”

Last year Zain collaborated with Huawei to launch a commercial LTE & LTE-A networks that deliver nationwide mobile coverage and are to date the country’s only nationwide LTE network. As a global leader in LTE technology innovation, Huawei invests heavily in LTE-related research and development to keep itself at the cutting edge of carrier technology.

Background Information

Zain

Zain is the pioneer of mobile telecommunications in the Middle East. We began life in 1983 in Kuwait as the region’s first mobile operator, and since the initiation of our expansion strategy in 2003, we have expanded rapidly. Today, we are a leading mobile voice and data services operator with a commercial footprint in 8 Middle Eastern and Africa countries with a workforce of over 6,000 providing a comprehensive range of mobile voice and data services to over 50 million active individual and business customers as of March 31, 2019.

Company Profile

Huawei

Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. With integrated solutions across four key domains – telecom networks, IT, smart devices, and cloud services – we are committed to bringing digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world.