Bahrain scores the first position in the telecommunications infrastructure

TRA's Chairman and Acting General Director Dr. Mohammed Al Amer praised the industry achievement and said, "This United Nations recognition is a direct result of the vision of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa the Crown Prince, the guidance of HE Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatala Al Khalifa Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Minster responsible for telecommunications sector and the dedicated work of TRA team in encouraging infrastructure investment that supports the delivery of wider range of telecommunications services. I would like to thank all licensed operators for their investment and for putting faith in us."

Dr. Al Amer went on to say, "Through the regulatory measures we are aiming to achieve higher internet reach to the public at affordable prices to enable them benefit from e-Government services and applications. In Bahrain consumers are enjoying more choices, higher speeds and better quality internet services, this has not only supported e-Government initiatives, but also supported in realising the objectives of the Kingdom 2030 economic vision."

The telecommunication infrastructure index composes of six primary basic infrastructural indicators, which define a country's ICT infrastructure capacity. These are: PC's/1000 persons; Internet users/1000 persons; Telephone Lines/1000 persons; Online population; Mobile phones/1000 persons; and TV's/1000 persons.

Today Bahrain is connected through one nationwide fixed network connecting more than 8 fixed licensed operators, two nationwide WiMax networks, three nationwide mobile networks and three international cables connecting Bahrain to the rest of the glob. All of these helped in increasing the penetration of telecommunications services and applications, which in turn supported Bahrain and e-Government Authority in particular in achieving an advanced position internationally for the e-Government readiness.

Dr. Al Amer also said, "TRA plays an important role in the social and economic development of the kingdom, we at TRA supported and will continue to support the initiatives of the e-Government Authority to ensure the reach of e-Government applications and services to the wider public."

TRA working closely with HE Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatala Al Khalifa, The Minister in Charge of Telecommunications on a national strategy to study Bahrain's current and future requirements for telecommunications services with focus of broadband services as it is considered to be an enabler for the productivity and efficiency to both residence and businesses.

It is worth noting that the United Nations' report assesses e-Government Readiness according to a quantitative composite index of e-readiness based on website assessment, telecommunication infrastructure, and human resource endowment.