Manama, Dec. 27 (BNA): Telecommunications Regulatory Autority (TRA)’s Director-General, Mohamed Hamad Bu Bshait, said the Kingdom of Bahrain will be fully covered with fiber optic network in the next three years, for mobile and fixed lines.
He said the fourth National Telecommunications Plan was in its final stages, pending the minister’s approval, to be published. He pointed out that the plan focuses on development of telecommunication infrastructures and preparation for activation of 5G in future.

He told Al Ayam daily that the international capacity allocated for the Kingdom, has been increased from 31 gigabytes/second in 2009 to 418 gigabytes/second this year.

Also, the sharing of telecommunication pylons has risen from 3.9% in 2013 to 11.8% in 2015. The use of frequency spectrum has reached 77%.

He said the use of information and telecommunication technology (ICT) in the Kingdom has risen over the last five years to 33%, adding that Bahrain has climbed 21 steps up the ladder within five years to become the 27th nation globally and the first in the region for the second year consecutively.

He anticipated the future of investment in the telecommunications sector in the Kingdom will largely depend on data transmission services. Hence, the service operators should think unconventionally in this aspect, he concluded.

I.Y

BNA 0859 GMT 2015/12/27