Consumers raise issues of concern directly to licensed telecom operators in Bahrain

A panel of service providers and consumers' representatives addressed the consumers' issues and views on services being offered in the market.

The meeting covered a wide range of topics, including consumer rights, customer services, ethics of product advertisement, billing and invoicing issues. Consumers had the opportunity to question their service providers directly and honestly.

The Chair of the meeting, TRA's General Director, Mr. Alan Horne, commented:

"I would like to thank the consumer panel and the licensed operators for coming together to debate issues of interest to the telecommunications users in Bahrain. We strongly encourage consumers to voice their concerns directly to their service providers. Through this interaction we aim to raise awareness among consumers, as we believe that better-informed consumers always support the development of a competitive market."

Mr. Horne added, "In a very competitive market such as Bahrain, licensed operators are keen to hear consumers' complaints and work to resolve them rather than see their customers leave for another operator."

On the panel consumers were represented by Sheikha Haya bint Rashed Al Khalifa, Chair of the Consumer Advisory Group, Mr. Ahmed bin Hindi, Head of founding committee of the Business Users Association, Mr. Raed AlSamahiji and Mr. Faisal Abdulla, founding members of the Business Users Association, and Mr. Abdulbasit AlMahmood, Vice Chairperson of the Consumer Advisory Group.

The Industry panel that attended the meeting consisted of representatives of Batelco, Zain, Lightspeed Communications, Mena Telecom, Nuetel Communications and Kalam Telecom.