The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority Bahrain (TRA) has committed to resolve disputes within a maximum period of five months in its newly released Dispute Resolution Guidelines.

In addition, TRA will introduce an informal stage wherein it shall act as a mediator with the objective of finding informal solutions to disputes between licensees.

The guidelines for dispute resolution were published upon receiving various submissions from telecom operators Batelco, Zain, Viva, and Menatelecom as well as public responses.

The public consultation entitled “Dispute Resolution Guidelines in relation to disputes between licensees and complaints against licensees pursuant to Chapter 17 of the Telecommunications Law of the Kingdom of Bahrain” was released on March 16.

The purpose of the public consultation was to invite comments from interested parties on the TRA’s intended form and manner by which disputes and complaint referrals should be made, how the Authority would handle disputes and complaints and the approach to be adopted by the Authority when dealing with such cases.

The Consultation Report reflects TRA’s views on comments received in response to the consultation document and is intended to provide an explanation of the Authority’s position on the comments received from respondents. - TradeArabia News Service