The Bahrain Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) plans to conduct a licence award process later this year or early next year for paired spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band and other frequency bands used for mobile telecommunications.

'These could be used for post-3G mobile services to deliver ultra-high speed broadband communications over mobile networks,' TRA chairman Dr Mohammed Al Amer announced at a Middle East Spectrum conference at the Gulf Hotel yesterday.

'The 2.6 GHz frequency band is the preferred evolutionary path for most public mobile operators in the Middle East and North Africa, African and European regions and would become available in the kingdom in two tranches,' said TRA general director Mohamed Hamad Bubashait.

'The first tranche would be two paired sub-bands of 40 MHz which would be freed by the end of 2012. A further 30 MHz of paired 2.6 GHz spectrum would become available by the end of 2014.'

The review of spectrum will seek to determine the kingdom's public mobile spectrum requirements for 2020 and beyond.-TradeArabia News Service