Bahrain’s Spectrum Strategy Coordination Committee approved the national plan for frequencies at a meeting held recently.

The meeting was chaired by Mohamed Ali AlQaed, chief executive of Information and eGovernment Authority, and attended by committee members representing 10 governmental entities.
 
During the meeting, the chairman praised last year's achievements and highlighted the need of developing the telecommunications sector, increasing Bahrain's ranking in ICT international indicators, as well as enhancing the utilisation of the advanced technology, which will reflect positively on investments in line with Bahrain's Vision 2030.
 
Responding to the decree issued in May 2016 by His Royal Highness the Prime Minister for adopting the recommendations of the Fourth National Telecommunications Plan, the committee approved the National Plan for Frequencies. The plan was prepared by a sub-committee and based on the outputs of the World Radio Conference 2015.

This plan focuses on the international regulations, optimal use of the spectrum and the requirements of various sectors, including entities specialized in national security. The plan stresses on developing the Directorate of Wireless Licensing, Frequency & Monitoring, utilising the frequencies effectively to meet current and future needs of all users, attracting investments to the kingdom, developing  the ICT sector as well as meeting the international requirements.
 
The committee also agreed on adopting the technical part of the fixed links prepared by the Directorate of Wireless Licensing, Frequency and Monitoring, adding new frequency bands for fixed services which support the private and commercial communications network infrastructure. This will contribute in increasing the capacity to fit requirements of launching the latest global communication systems in Bahrain, it felt.

The committee also adopted the 2.6 GHz frequency band allocation plan, and technical specifications that provides a smooth use of the fourth and fifth generation mobile services technologies (LTE), without technical issues.
 
The committee discussed its upcoming plan, along with the process of implementing the decisions, and achieving greater milestones in the field of spectrum planning.

The committee comprises 10 governmental entities, representing the Information & eGovernment Authority, Ministry of Interior, National Security Agency, Bahrain Defence Force, Ministry of Transportation & Telecommunications, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Ministry of Information Affairs, and the National Guard. – TradeArabia News Service