Page 59 - SAMENA Trends - December 2020

WHOLESALE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Zong 4G Introduces Matchless Saudi Arabia International Roaming Offer

Country’s connectivity and digital connected with friends and family back bundle better than any other offer currently
services leader, Zong 4G, has introduced home on their travels abroad. Through available in the market. “Saudi Arabia is
a matchless international roaming offer the offer, Zong 4G’s prepaid customers like a second home to Pakistanis besides
for customers traveling to the Kingdom of can get 35 minutes and 1 GB of data at being a religious center,” said Zong
Saudi Arabia. The offer is in continuation of an affordable price of just PKR 999 + tax. 4G’s official spokesperson. “Pakistanis
Zong 4G’s industry-leading international The extended validity of 90 days also frequently travel to KSA for work, or for Hajj
roaming solutions to help Pakistanis stay makes Zong’s KSA international roaming and Umrah. Facilitating their connectivity
with their loved ones in Pakistan as they
travel is Zong 4G’s priority. We will continue
enhancing our roaming portfolio through
more innovative products and services for
our customers.” Zong 4G’s international
roaming offers have been helping traveling
Pakistanis to never lose connection with
their friends and family back in the home
country. Especially during the first Covid-19
crisis and now amid the pandemic’s
second wave, these offers have proven
instrumental for traveling Pakistanis.
Prior to the Saudi Arabia bundle, Zong
has introduced prepaid roaming offers for
China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, and other
countries.

Wi-Fi Roaming Survey Finds Support for WBA Standard

Seventy-nine percent of service providers, Fi 6 and 5G would be very important or WBA CEO Tiago Rodrigues said in a press
equipment manufacturers and enterprises critical to their future business plans. release. “Now, it’s the complete opposite.
have or plan to adopt the Wireless • Roaming is the top monetization Across the comms industry, we’re seeing
Broadband Alliance’s OpenRoaming Wi- strategy for 2021 and 45% put it in their excitement building around these trends.
Fi standard, according to a Wi-Fi roaming top three. It is followed by offload (38%) 2020 has been a difficult year for everyone
survey from WBA. The organization and analytics (32%). and this reinforces the role of Wi-Fi during
describes the standard as initiative to • Fifty-seven percent believe that multi- the pandemic to keep everyone connected.”
make “the world [into] a single, giant Wi- access edge computing (MEC) will lead It’s easily possible to guess what Rodrigues
Fi network, allowing billions of people and to new use cases for Wi-Fi. meant by 2020 being a difficult year. He
their devices to connect automatically and • Fifty-six percent say the smart cities also more directly addressed the ongoing
securely to millions of Wi-Fi networks.” sector is the top target as a primary COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns have
Wi-Fi Roaming Survey vertical use case for Wi-Fi. This is shifted traffic from offices to homes and
Other findings in the report: followed by retail (39%) and education many cellular and broadband providers
• 95% of respondents in the or campus networks (39%) are experiencing “massive, sustained”
communications industry said that Wi- The technology has moved into the increases in residential traffic. He credits
Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E will be important to their spotlight, according to the organization. Wi-Fi in these areas with keeping the
business and 65% say that they have “There was a time, not so long ago, that situation from becoming bleaker for
deployed or will deploy Wi-Fi 6/6E by when we discussed the potential for Wi- businesses and people.
the end of 2021. Fi roaming or the convergence of Wi-Fi 6
• 67% said that the convergence of Wi- and 5G, we were met with blank stares,”

59 DECEMBER 2020