The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Bahrain has recently published its latest Telecommunications Services Residential Market Survey report, which said that 99.7% of respondents used internet in the last three months. This is a clear indication of the increasing affordability of internet services in Bahrain. 

 

Bahrain ranks 4th globally in the percentage of individuals using internet, according to the latest Global Competitiveness Report published by World Economic Forum in October 2019. 

 

With regard to mobile telephony services, almost all respondents said they have mobile phone service. However, the survey results show that the percentage of users having two or more mobile SIM cards has declined and reached 14% in 2019 compared with 38% in 2017. This reflects the developments in mobile telephony packages, such as the introduction of new and comprehensive packages as well as the change in usage pattern, specifically the significantly increasing use of mobile data and the decreased use of traditional telecoms services, such as voice calls and SMSs. The survey indicated that the main reason for having more than one SIM card is to have separate SIMs for business and personal use. 

 

As for the fixed line service, the results of the survey showed that the percentage of households with fixed telephone line has reached 8% compared with 13% in 2017. Most of the households depend on mobile phone service now, it said.

 

Regarding telecommunications services users’ satisfaction, the survey results showed that 85% of respondents expressed their satisfaction with telecommunications services in Bahrain. Moreover, users' proposals for telecommunications service improvement were focused on lowering prices and increasing the quality of services. TRA ensures this by encouraging and promoting competition and maintaining the interests of users.

 

“The advanced telecommunications infrastructure in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the high penetration rates for various telecommunications services, in particular the internet services, have contributed to supporting government efforts to effectively combat the global crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic,” said Shaikh Nasser bin Mohamed Al Khalifa, Acting General Director of TRA. 

 

“The high penetration rate of Internet services has supported the government's efforts to activate education and work remotely. The availability of high speeds and large data capacity has helped support the implementation and use of the applications necessary to perform the tasks of education and work remotely,” continued Shaikh Nasser. – TradeArabia News Service