Touch signs new roaming agreement with Zain Omantel

BEIRUT — Lebanese mobile operator Touch announced in a statement on Monday that it signed a roaming agreement with Zain Omantel International (ZOI), a large telecom operator in the Middle East.

"The agreement was finalized on May 22," Touch told L’Orient Today.

Zain and Omantel network subscribers visiting Lebanon from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Bahrain, Sudan, South Sudan and Oman will be able to use roaming services through the Touch network at "reduced rates." However, the companies were not able to specify what the new rates will be.

They said, "This move effectively eliminates previous concerns about high roaming fees, offering customers the ease of maintaining the same number while roaming, instead of purchasing local lines or e-sims."

The company is also working to upgrade the financial and technical aspects of its roaming services to make them more appealing to foreign visitors. It currently hosts similar agreements with other operators in the Middle East, Europe and the U.S.

"Touch has roaming agreements with 425 international GSM operators in 191 countries," it noted.

"The [new] agreement is part of Touch’s broader strategy to restore Lebanon’s telecom sector to its regional role, especially in the Gulf," the company further stated in a press release.