•Introduction coincides with Zain celebrating 30 wonderful years

•Company confident it will benefit from new regulation due to its superior network, innovation and exceptional customer experience

•Over 75 branches available to serve customers swiftly

Kuwait, 14 June 2013 - Zain, the leading telecommunications operator in Kuwait celebrating its 30th anniversary of providing telecommunications services in the country this year, welcomes number portability into Kuwait and advises all parties that its representatives are completely ready to accept transfer requests at any of the company's branches spread across the country in over 75 locations. The new regulation takes effect from Saturday 15 June 2013 and allows any current mobile customer to switch to the mobile operator of his choice and retain his original number by entering the mobile service provider store in a simple procedure, without cost. For any enquiry related to number portability, customers can call 107 on Zain's network where over 200 representatives are ready to serve their needs.

Zain Kuwait today serves over 2.4 million customers and with the country's largest and most advanced 2G/3G/4G LTE nationwide network covering 100% of the population, the company is confident that this new measure will be beneficial to the improvement of the Kuwait telecom sector as a whole, and more importantly an added gain to the country's mobile customers.     

Commenting on the MOC's initiative, Omar Al Omar, Zain Kuwait CEO acknowledged "the decision is a step forward in the evolution of the telecom sector in Kuwait. This new regulation will empower the customer with the freedom to choose the mobile service provider of his choice, while at the same time act as a stimulus for all operators to be more dynamic and focused to meet and exceed customer satisfaction."

As the country's undisputed telecom leader on many key performance levels and innovation, Zain is confident that the new law will be an impetus to cement and further enhance such leadership. Al Omar noted, "Our many competitive advantages such as our superior nationwide 4G LTE network, and our comprehensive array of enticing mobile packages matched by exceptional service through our branch network of over 75 locations supported by over 200 call center representatives, differentiates Zain as the preferred mobile provider in Kuwait."

To enhance and maintain its superior customer experience and innovation, Zain has invested heavily over the past few years in upgrading its network that today ranks as one of the most advanced in the world. The company's attention to delighting customers through an enriching mobile experience is core to every employee's focus, reflected by the company's 9% customer growth (203,000 additional customers) over the past 12 months.

With the largest base of postpaid customers in the country, Zain benefits enormously from a large proportion of these customers subscribing to high-speed 3G and 4G LTE Internet plans. "We are confident that these higher value customers are more than satisfied with their mobile experience on our superfast and reliable networks and we believe that we will see many new Internet centric customers joining Zain," Al Omar said. He also noted the company's impressive 14% Internet services growth over the past 12 months, testament to the quality and appeal of the nationwide 4G LTE network. Ancillary to this is the company's transparent billing system, which allows customers to track their usage and amount accumulated online 24/7 or by visiting any Zain branch.   

Furthermore, Al Omar emphasized Zain's several other strategic advantages that differentiate the company from the competition, notably the 30 years it has devoted to serving customers in Kuwait, and its strong and internationally admired brand that is supported by an unrivalled regional presence providing many cross-border benefits such as preferential roaming rates.

The recent marketing relationship with the world's leading telecom operator Vodafone will witness many new appealing and advantageous services rolled out in the immediate future such as preferential voice and Internet roaming rates for travelers to the UK and many other Vodafone partner markets across the globe.  

Moreover Zain recently launched 'Zain Pass', the global Wi-Fi roaming service from iPASS that provides Internet access in over 1.24 million hotspots across 123 countries, a service that will be immediately felt with many travelling this summer.

In recent times Zain has entered into agreements with world leading mobile smartphone and device providers such as Apple, Blackberry, HTC and Samsung , providing its customers the advantage of being the first in the market to benefit from such devices, a benefit matched with compelling packages.    

"Complementary to all our commercial activities and other distinctions, is Zain's unrivalled commitment to the community it serves. The countless sponsorship and socially responsible programs in place, position Zain as the most respected mobile provider in the country," Al Omar remarked.

"Essentially, number portability will lead to greater customer choice and at Zain we believe we are well positioned and primed to benefit from this new regulation. Zain placed Kuwait on the world telecom map and today we are focused on delighting our customers through a splendid customer experience and fulfilling our brand promise of a wonderful world," Al Omar concluded.

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© Press Release 2013