VEON announces world’s first ‘Always-On’ network

Ensures continuity of vital digital financial services during mobile network closures

Barcelona, 24th February 2022 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam: VEON), a global digital operator that provides mobile connectivity and services, today announced the Always-on Network Service that allows digital financial applications to continue even when mobile communication services are suspended. The Always-on Network Service will enable digital financial services to continue even when mobile voice and messaging services have been suspended due to security concerns. In 2020, these shutdowns occurred in 29 countries and took place 155 times. The financial damage inflicted by a network shutdown was estimated to be $23.6 million per 10 million population per day¹.
The Always-on Network is an industry-wide initiative, developed in collaboration with the GSMA Foundry, to deliver always-on accessibility for business-critical applications and emergency services in data-restricted geographical areas. VEON will demonstrate the Always-on initiative at the Mobile Word Congress as part of the GSMA Foundry showcase. VEON is planning to deploy the Always-on Network Service in Pakistan through its Jazz mobile operator, subject to the approval of the relevant authorities. It will enable the continuation of operation of the JazzCash mobile banking service even when the mobile communication services are suspended. Jazz is the largest mobile operator in the country with almost 73 million customers 2 and its JazzCash financial services are used by over 15 million customers².
“For hundreds of millions of people around the world, mobile financial applications such as JazzCash are essential applications to access their money,” states Kaan Terzioğlu, CEO, VEON. “With our Always-on Network, we provide our subscribers with uninterrupted access to their finances, ensuring that they can continue to make essential payments, even in cases of Internet restrictions. This is very much in line with our digital operator strategy, which is focused on delivering high-quality and seamless services to our customers for the 1,440 minutes of a day.”
The Always-On Network Service is facilitated by 4G ‘network-slicing’ technology that enables core digital services by pushing customised policies through to the service gateway at the edge of the network. This can enable the IP traffic for specific applications, such as JazzCash, to continue to operate despite the suspension of other network services.

¹Source: Deloitte
²As of 31 December 2021

About VEON

VEON is a NASDAQ and Euronext Amsterdam-listed global provider of connectivity and digital services. Our companies are transforming lifestyles through technology-driven services that empower opportunity in some of the world’s fastest-growing emerging markets. For more information, visit: https://www.veon.com

Disclaimer

This release contains "forward-looking statements", as the phrase is defined in Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and include statements relating to, among other things, the actual deployment of the ‘Always-On’ Network in Pakistan and the ability for customers to access business-critical applications and emergency services during network disruptions or data-restricted areas. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which VEON cannot predict with accuracy and some of which VEON might not even anticipate. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date of this release. VEON does not undertake to publicly update, except as required by U.S. federal securities laws, any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after such dates or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
 

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