Bahrain with a mobile penetration of over 150% and three mobile service operators on the ground has become a very competitive market which can’t be judged merely on market share alone, a senior official at Zain Bahrain in an interview said.
“With the launch of mobile services by the third service provider, one user can have minimum three chips or more making it difficult to judge the ladder standing of any operator on the number of Sims or no of connections,” Mohammed Zainalabedin, General Manager, Zain Bahrain said.
Secondly, he added, Zain enjoys a very strong and loyal customer base that can make a difference between quality and quantity.
Talking about the outlook for Bahrain’s telecom market he said data communication would fuel the growth in 2011 and beyond.
“Keeping in view the importance this segment Zain just announced the launch of Mobile Data Bundles for prepaid customers, making it the first mobile operator in Bahrain to offer this product,” Zainalabedin added.
According him Zain would be able to offer cutting edge services including Long Term Evolution (LTE) call system by using fourth generation high speed telephony technology. “Zain has had invested in upgrading its infrastructure to support the company’s commitment at the top in many areas within Bahraini telecom market. We are waiting for a right time to offer LTE at mass scale in Bahrain,” he said.
With the launch of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) call system by using fourth generation high speed telephony technology, Zain Bahrain has set a new benchmark being the most innovative telecom operator in the Middle East and Africa.
Zain Bahrain had also proved its preparedness and commitment to mass-scale deployment of this advanced technology just six months after announcing the Middle East’s first LTE contract with Nokia Siemens Networks.
Zain had partnered with Nokia Siemens and successfully implemented 70 Mbps LTE call technology in 30 days after signing the agreement.
Last year Zain Bahrain had successfully demonstrated the region’s first LTE call, by setting new standards for the telecoms sector by achieving a download data speed of 70 Mbps.
“Zain Bahrain is ready to roll out even three-digit high-powered technology whenever we want,” he said.
When it is 100% completed, Zain Bahrain’s LTE network will not only be a world-class network, but will serve as a showcase for all of Zain Group’s operations across the Middle East. The deployment of LTE technology will ‘future proof’ Zain Bahrain’s network, allowing it to offer local and visiting ‘One Network’ customers a wide range of attractive mobile services for years to come.