Bahrain achieves nationwide 5G coverage

Bahrain has achieved full national 5G coverage, the country’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications has announced, with two of the three mobile operators now covering the entire population with 5G.

Authorities hope the roll-out will attract global tech firms to invest in the country to leverage the next generation technology across a wide variety of applications

“This important milestone is also a testament to our strength as a regional and global ICT leader,” said Kamal bin Ahmed Mohamed, Bahrain’s Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications.

“Moreover, it is a clear indication that our ongoing national digital transformation and Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030 strategies are on track. Both prioritise strong ICT infrastructure to support the growth of our digital economy while enhancing Bahrain’s readiness to harness innovation,” he added.

Bahrain’s telecoms sector attracted some BHD787m in investments (more than $2bn) between 2009 and 2019. In line with the kingdom’s economic diversification efforts, Bahrain’s ICT sector now accounts for nearly 3 per cent of the national GDP.

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The Kingdom has pursued a strategy of flexible regulation to encourage investment in the telecoms sector. Bahrain was the first GCC member to open and liberalise its telecoms market and remains one of the region’s only telecoms markets with no restrictions on VoIP services.

“We are confident that our potential to generate, use, and ultimately export innovation will be pivotal for the growth and diversification of our economy towards high value-added sectors such as content development and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Rapid access to information is essential to innovation, particularly for next-generation services. In this way, 5G is a crucial step in Bahrain’s ongoing transition from net consumer to a net producer of technological innovation,” Mohamed said.

Researchers estimate that there will be more than 1 billion 5G connections by 2023, and Bahrain’s nationwide roll-out places the Kingdom at the forefront of this global technological advancement for both B2B and B2C applications.