Auction of Bahrain’s third mobile licence to close November 13

Parties interested in bidding for Bahrain’s third mobile licence have until November 13 to make their offers, the kingdom’s telecoms regulator announced this week.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) stated the auction would take the form of a multi-stage qualification process, with a final financial round for qualified bidders.

Alan Horne wants an experienced international player as the kingdom’s third mobile operator

The TRA’s director general Alan Horne said he expects the winning bidder to be an experienced international player capable of offering innovative and affordable mobile services, to strengthen competition in Bahrain, and deliver tangible socio-economic benefits. The current mobile providers in the country are Batelco and Zain.

The tender documents for the third licence are available on the TRA’s website (www.tra.org.bh) and can be downloaded for free by prospective bidders after completing a brief electronic form.

To be eligible to bid, interested parties are required to register and pay a non-refundable fee of BD2500 (US$6631) by 3pm on October 13.

Registration will allow parties to seek clarification to information provided in the documents, with the closing date for the submission of questions at 3pm on October 16.

The final deadline for receiving bids is no later than 3pm on November 13, after which the TRA will review the initial pre-qualification information submitted by bidders.

On November 18, the TRA will announce the names of the bidders that have passed the pre-qualification review, as well as the date for opening the financial offers for those bidders.