Zain Bahrain, a leading telecom operator, has launched a new service, which offers cross-border connectivity linking 14 countries in the Middle East and East Africa regions at local prices free of roaming surcharges.

Zain Bahrain customers travelling to Saudi Arabia and using Zain network can experience the benefits of the One Network, which includes receiving all their calls for free, making calls or sending SMS messages at the local rates of Saudi Arabia, calling voicemail (117) and Zain Bahrain customer care (107) using short codes for free, as well as accessing data services including BlackBerry at the local rates in Saudi Arabia.

Zain eeZee prepaid customers will also enjoy topping up their prepaid accounts using Zain Saudi Arabia’s widely available prepaid recharge vouchers.

This translates into huge savings to customers, where One Network rates are free of high roaming fees which are charged by the visited networks, thus making the rates similar to that of the local rates available to Zain SA customers, said a statement.

For Zain Bahrain customers, this means that they can make local calls in Saudi Arabia for just 35 fils ($0.09) instead of 440 fils ($1.17) that they would pay as standard roaming charges with other mobile operators. Calling back to Bahrain shall be discounted to 130 fils per minute from 603 fils.

Zain Bahrain travellers shall also receive all their  calls for free, as well as be able to call customer care and their voicemail for free.

SMS rates are 50 fils per message from 201 fils, while for data services customers shall save nearly 97 per cent when accessing data, using their BlackBerry, or sending MMS, as rates shall be only 201 fils per MB instead of BD7.700 ($20.40).

The One Network service currently covers Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait (data service at local rates only), Iraq, Jordan, Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Niger, Malawi, Tanzania, Gabon, Congo B, Chad, according to the statement.

“The One Network service is an unrivalled proposition as it not only offers receiving calls for free, but offers savings reaching up to 97 per cent for outgoing calls, messages and data access. Consequently, the service has won major awards on being the best telecoms service in the world, and this is available only to Zain customers” said Ayman Al Alawi, Zain Bahrain’s international roaming manager.

“This high-tech integration of our regional presence is a shining example of how Zain Bahrain customers benefit from our technology leadership.”

He added: “One Network comes into its most relevance during special occasions such as the season of Umrah during Ramadan when thousands of our customers go on pilgrimage or on Eid breaks in the region.”

“The travellers as well as family and friends in Bahrain can stay in touch using the convenience of One Network at prices that are the best ever for such cross-border communication,” Al Alawi concluded. – TradeArabia News Service