Batelco has announced that it has successfully activated 5G coverage across Bahrain.
The 5G coverage is available in all four governorates covering 95 percent of the nation’s population. This, says Batelco, makes it the first operator to have national 5G coverage in Bahrain – and positions Batelco among the leading operators in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a political and economic alliance of six countries in the Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Although Bahrain is not big (it covers an area estimated at 765.3 square kilometres) the rollout does seems to have happened quite quickly. It was in March last year that Batelco signed a partnership agreement with Ericsson to build a national 5G mobile network over a period of two years.
In June 2019, Batelco announced that it was the first operator in Bahrain and among the first in the region to deliver commercial 5G network services for its customers.
Batelco CEO Mikkel Vinter has been quoted as saying: “Covering Bahrain with 5G is a key strategic goal for Batelco, both at the corporate and national level. It’s is a technology that will change the telecom industry as we know it today and will open up endless possibilities in the digital space.”
He added: “The entire Batelco team are very proud of the national 5G coverage that is in line with Bahrain’s economic vision for 2030.” The Economic Vision 2030 is described as a comprehensive economic vision for Bahrain, providing a clear direction for the continued development of the Kingdom’s economy.
