ZOI and Zain Kuwait collaborated with the Kuwait Ministry of Health (MOH), Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science (KFAS), and international partners to enable a surgical team in Kuwait to operate on a patient in Brazil in near real-time.
The remote robotic surgery set a Guinness World Record for the greatest distance between a patient and a surgeon. ZOI provided international transport services between Kuwait, Marseille, and São Paulo (Equinix SP4), while Zain Kuwait supplied the local access networks. The joint network strategy achieved an end-to-end latency of 199 ms (0.2 seconds), an average bandwidth of 80 Mbps, and a packet loss of only 0.19%. This record-breaking latency allowed the surgeons to control the robot in real time despite the distance.
The announcement was made at a press conference at Zain Kuwait headquarters, where a Guinness World Records representative presented the certificates to the Minister of Health, the surgical team, Zain, and KFAS. The representative confirmed that the teams from Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital in Kuwait and SCOLLA at Cruz Vermelha Hospital in Brazil had officially set the record.
Sohail Qadir, CEO of ZOI, stated:
“ZOI’s strategic investments in digital infrastructure that enable local innovations on a global scale provide the foundation for connecting low-latency applications and services worldwide. This is what can be achieved through coordinated delivery between local access and the international backbone.”
The surgery was performed over alive global network using a route specifically designed to offer predictable latency, with multiple alternative routes available in case of disruptions, demonstrating how advanced digital infrastructure can open new frontiers in medicine.
Qadir added:
“This level of accuracy across 12,000 kilometers is only possible when every part of the network is designed and operated to deliver consistent, low-latency performance. Our role was to ensure a stable and predictable international route so the surgical team could focus on the patient, while we assumed responsibility for the network. The record makes for a great headline, but more importantly, it demonstrates what can be achieved when strong partners, advanced digital infrastructure, and a shared commitment to innovation come together.”
ZOI offers its customers faster access to regional markets, greater resilience across multiple routes, and the assurance that their most sensitive traffic is managed and prioritized. Backed by Zain and Omantel, ZOI combines decades of wholesale experience with a deep local presence and a proven track record of delivering on a global scale.
