Zain Omantel International (ZOI) has taken a significant step in the fight against telecom fraud by joining the One Consortium, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to tackling illegal and unwanted international voice calls and messages.
ZOI joins other telecom companies such as Lumen, Orange Wholesale, Verizon, and Vodafone, along with global industry organizations like the i3Forum, GSMA, Global Leaders Forum (GLF), and Global Solutions Council (GSC).
The One Consortium collaborates with telecommunications regulators worldwide to address the pervasive issue of fraud in international telecommunications, which poses substantial risks to consumers and businesses.
According to the Hiya global call threat report, 7.3 billion suspected spam calls were recorded in Q4 2023, marking an increase from 6.55 billion in Q3 2023. This equates to an alarming 81.1 million unwanted calls per day.
The One Consortium’s efforts are supported by the Global Informal Regulatory Antifraud Forum (GIRAF), which recently launched with 20 European regulatory authorities. The consortium's mission is to foster a collaborative environment where industry leaders can share insights and develop strategies to enhance trust in international communications.
As a voting member of the One Consortium, ZOI will actively participate in working groups focused on various aspects of telecom fraud, including fraud identification best practices, regulatory policy, messaging fraud, international traceback, and Calling Line Identification (CLI) spoofing. These initiatives aim to build trust in telecommunications and accelerate digital transformation in the Middle East region.
Sohail Qadir, CEO at ZOI, emphasised the alignment of the company’s core values with the consortium's objectives: “Joining One Consortium underscores our commitment to integrity and customer-centricity across the MENA region and beyond. It plays a crucial role in combating fraud across the industry. We are looking forward to working together with the aim of enhancing trust across international telecommunication channels and helping to make a real change across the industry.”
The creation of the One Consortium was spearheaded by the i3Forum to support regulators and policymakers in their efforts to enhance trust across the telecommunications ecosystem. The industry faces significant challenges due to rampant fraud, scams, and spoofing attacks, which impact both carriers and consumers.
Philippe Millet, founder and chairman of the i3Forum, expressed his enthusiasm about ZOI joining the consortium: “We are excited to welcome ZOI to the One Consortium and to have a Middle East-headquartered service provider join us in the fight against voice and messaging fraud. It is critical that we have representation from across the globe as we aim to enhance trust in international telecommunications. Collaboration on a global scale means we can have an impact and benefit the carrier community, businesses, and consumers.”
