Six companies in running for third Bahrain mobile licence

The TRA’s Horne says interest in the licence is high.

Interest in Bahrain’s third mobile network operator licence
has come from six international companies, some of which are associated with local partners, while others are new to the kingdom’s telecoms sector, according the national regulator.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) expects to start receiving submissions by August or September, a spokesperson told Comm., in anticipation of a December 4 announcement of the winning bid.

The TRA is currently analysing expressions of interest, which include companies’ responses to several key questions, in order to design the award process and the development of tender documents and supporting information.

“We asked interested parties what they prefer with regards to an auction or beauty contest; which frequency bands they use and if any have an exclusivity period that they require,” the spokesperson said. “We also asked if they may require infrastructure sharing, and whether they prefer to share with current providers.”

Alan Horne, TRA’s general director, said he was greatly encouraged by the interest from international companies investing in Bahrain’s telecommunications market and suggested there could be further expressions of interest.

“The number of responses received does not necessarily reflect the full extent of interest in the third mobile licence in Bahrain, as some companies may prefer to submit their bids without expressing any interest at this time,” Horne said.

Given Bahrain’s mobile penetration rate is already in excess of 100 per cent, some commentators have suggested there would be a muted response to the licensing opportunity in the country. However, domestic players such as Mena Telecom, Nuetel Communications and Lightspeed Communications, which is majority owned by Jordan Telecom Group, are amongst the operators that are likely to be interested in the award.