Zain to pilot 'joyn' platform

'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' is a major advancement by the mobile operator community to compete more effectively with other internet services and content providers (over-the-top players like Skype, Whatsapp, Viber, etc...) . 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 is set to pilot joyn in the Middle East in order to assess its suitability and compatibility with local conditions. In so doing, Zain continues to highlight its innovation and technology leadership.

joyn has been piloted and introduced by a number of leading mobile operators around the world, and Zain is keen to have the platform piloted in the Middle East as soon as possible.

Zain Group CEO, Mr. Scott Gegenheimer said: "Our policy to innovate means we are always looking to trends and developments in other parts of the world that we think would also enrich the user experience in the markets in which we operate. Our decision to pilot joyn reaffirms our commitment to allowing our customers access to leading-edge technology and services in the shortest period of time possible."

Gegenheimer also added that once commercially launched across Zain operations, "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."

joyn is a certification trade mark of the GSMA and the consumer facing-brand for Rich Communication Services. When consumers see the joyn brand they will know that the device is RCS enabled, which means it automatically 'knows and shows' ways to share with contacts via chat, video, call or files, at any moment in time, regardless of the network or device used.