Telecommunications
Key telecoms companies
The Bahrain telecommunications sector is opening to competition. Though with large government shares, Batelco, the first telecoms company in Bahrain, it is faced with healthy competition by Zain (previously Vodaphone), Kalaam Telecommunications and recenty, Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC).
Batelco and Zain are the main players in Bahrain’s telecoms market. Batelco was the first Middle East telecommunications company to receive ISO9002 certification from the British Standards Institute and has an alliance with Cable & Wireless. Zain entered the Bahraini telecoms market in 2003, in two short years the company’s net revenues more than trebled from $35m to $107m and it achieved a market share of 30%. Recently, menatelecom has established itself as one of the nationwide full service telecommunications operators in the Kingdom since 2003. In January 2007 menatelecom successfully implemented a Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) license which will allow the company to provide customers with the full range of fixed and nomadic telecommunications services. Partnering with Motorola. menatelecom has rollout its FWA network nationwide, deploying a world-class technology solution based on state-of-the-art WiMAX technology.
Smartcards
In another regional first, Bahrain introduced smartcards in 2005. The cards serve as a combined ID card, driving licence and population registry card. They can be used for voting, electronic payments or as a valid travel document for journeys within the GCC.