Bahrain Mirror: The Bahraini Parliament will discuss in its next session Decree Law No. (38) for the year 2017 amending certain provisions of the Telecommunications Law promulgated by Decree Law No. (48) for the year 2002. It aims at enabling the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications as well as the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) to issue license for telecommunications companies that offer infrastructure communication services.

The representatives of the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority disclosed that the fourth national telecommunications plan was aimed at splitting Batelco into two separate entities, both functionally and legally, one of which would be responsible for the national terrestrial cable network and the other for providing retail services.

They pointed out that the new entity responsible for the national network will build a fiber optic network that provides high-speed and high quality communication, and shareholders will be owners of each of the two separate entities, which will work in complete independence from one another; as a guarantee for equal treatment of all telecommunications companies (including Batelco for retail services) when used for infrastructure in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Arabic Version