Dubai, UAE, 18 March 2026 – Zain Omantel International (ZOI) and Zong, a subsidiary of China Mobile Pakistan, have partnered to expand voice interconnect and roaming services between the Middle East and Pakistan. The partnership builds on an existing interconnect relationship where ZOI carries Zain Group and Omantel retail Pakistan traffic for Zong. The two companies will grow their cooperation across voice and mobility services and move toward consolidating roaming under a single group framework to simplify operations and strengthen commercial alignment across the corridor.
Pakistan is one of South Asia’s largest telecommunications markets, with more than 200 million mobile subscribers nationwide. Zong serves over 53 million subscribers and operates one of Pakistan’s most extensive 4G networks. Its parent company, China Mobile, is the world’s largest mobile operator by subscriber base, serving over one billion customers globally and operating one of the industry’s most expansive international network infrastructures.
“This partnership reflects our focus on quality mobility services and enabling customers growth,” said Sohail Qadir, Chief Executive Officer at ZOI. “Pakistan is a strategically important market for the Gulf region. By aligning with Zong and the wider China Mobile ecosystem, we are strengthening service quality, simplifying governance and creating a scalable model for voice and mobility services across one of the region’s highest volume routes.”
ZOI is an international carrier that provides unified, AI-ready digital infrastructure in MENA and across the world. It provides international voice, roaming, IP and capacity services to carriers, hyperscalers, mobile network operators, neoscalers and a range of network-centric businesses. ZOI carries more than 10 billion international voice minutes across 200 roaming countries. It has the number one ranked ASN IP network in the Middle East and investments in more than 22 subsea cable systems globally.
“ZOI is a trusted partner that understands our operational and commercial priorities,” said Mr Khurram Ishaq, Head of International Business at Zong. “It delivers consistent, high quality mobility services across the Middle East and provides the reliability and responsiveness we need to support our international growth. This partnership gives us confidence that our customers benefit from stable interconnect performance and a framework built for scale.”
Traffic between the Middle East and Pakistan continues to grow, driven by retail demand and cross-border mobility. ZOI and Zong will standardize how they manage voice and roaming traffic across the Middle East–Pakistan route. They will simplify interconnect processes, align roaming governance, and improve service stability as volumes continue to grow.
About Zain Omantel International (ZOI)
ZOI is an international carrier that delivers a unified, AI-ready network across the Middle East and beyond. Its international network gives hyperscalers, cloud providers, and carriers reliable, high-capacity connectivity through one partner, one network, and one commercial model.
Formed as a joint venture between Zain and Omantel, ZOI is ranked number one in IP networking in the Middle East and among the top 100 globally (CAIDA ASN ranking). Its infrastructure spans 20+ subsea cables, carrier-neutral data centers, and dual international network operations centers (iNOCs).
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