Up to 20 % reductions in the fees paid by telecommunications operators

Since the formation of TRA in 2002, the annual fees charged to licensees was 1% of their annual gross revenue generated from their licensed activities within the Kingdom of Bahrain.

This % has been reduced to 0.8%

The end of year review meeting was attended by representatives from 20 telecommunications licensed companies along with TRA management team.

In his opening speech, TRA's Chairman of the Board of Directors Mr. Mohammed Ahmed Al Amer said

"I would like to thank the operators for their cooperation with TRA and for their continuous investment in the sector. One of the key roles for the board is to approve TRA's budget and fees. The annual fees have been revised and reduced in order to assist the smaller telecommunications companies who do not use a large quantity of numbers or a large amount of spectrum. He went onto say that TRA's Board and staff are dedicated to serve the industry whilst looking after the greater interests of the consumer and the Kingdom."

TRA's General Director Mr. Alan Horne in his presentations said: "2008 was a good year for operators and consumers, a year of development and implementation that witnessed the launch of nine regulatory measures to develop further competition in the market. During the year consumer groups participations increased, and there was growth in choice of services and suppliers".


The end of year meeting involved key presentations and discussions between TRA staff and the industry.

Subjects covered included a status of actions arising from the TRA's Strategic Review, smmary of inter Licensee disputes, the Telecommunications Technology Office established to support operators lay new infrastructure, development of the Reference Offer from Batelco, updated processes for Type Approval of appratus designed to reduce the time to obtain approval of equipment and details on the revised TRA Schedule of Fees.

The meeting ended with a Round table discussion with feedback from the industry as to priorities of actions for 2009.

Alan Horne concluded the meeting sating "We all have a collective responsibility as a sector to develop competitive choices for businesses and residential consumers and to support the 2030 vision in developing the economy of the Kingdom".