Fibre broadband plans offered by the operators in Bahrain have the lowest charges in the GCC, says a study conducted by Bahrain's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).
In addition, Bahrain's telecom operators compete on a regional and Arab level for mobile services, particularly in charges of the high-usage packages. Bahrain's fixed broadband charges for high speeds have been reduced by 67% between 2019 and 2021, according to the study.
With an average mobile broadband usage at 28GB per month, at high usage levels of 10GB and more, Bahrain is more competitive than other GCC countries.
Coverage rises
As a result of the reduced broadband prices and the continued fibre rollout, the number of homes with fibre broadband has increased substantially. Based on the latest market data, 65% of households in Bahrain have fibre broadband services, compared to 42% in 2019, noting an increase of subscriptions by 34%.
Additionally, TRA’s latest Residential Market Survey report on telecoms services shows that 100% of respondents have reported using the Internet, indicating Bahrain’s growing affordability of Internet services.
Commenting on the findings of the study, TRA’s General Director, Philip Marnick stated: “We all want good quality broadband at an affordable price. It is essential for the TRA to be able to monitor price changes and analyse the impact of competition on the telecom services we all use.
“The TRA's role in boosting competition is evident in the reduction of charges, through working on significant projects, such as the establishment of the National Broadband Network, Bahrain Network (BNET) in 2019 – so all fibre in the kingdom is from the same provider – which offers a variety of fibre products to the operators in Bahrain, which enables them to provide advanced broadband services at competitive prices.”-- TradeArabia News Service