The TRA Bahrain released market indicators report on Tuesday which covers a large range of telecoms services indicators, such as the number of subscribers, penetration rates, calls usage, and telecoms revenues. The information included in this report is based on data provided by operators and historical data held by TRA.
At the end of Q2 2013, there were about 2.25 million mobile subscribers in Bahrain, representing a mobile penetration rate of 182%. Domestic mobile originated traffic reached 5.8 billion minutes in 2012, an increase of 15% on 2011. At the end of 2012, there were 270,000 BlackBerry subscribers (13% of mobile subscribers), which represented growth of 28.6% since 2011. At the end of Q2 2013, approximately 1 million mobile voice subscribers were active mobile broadband subscribers which represent 45% of total mobile voice subscribers.
At the end of Q2 2013, there were approximately 1.38 million Broadband subscribers in Bahrain, representing a broadband penetration rate of 112%.The majority of broadband subscribers (87%) were mobile broadband subscribers at the end of Q2 2013.
By the end of Q2 2013, there were about 257,000 fixed lines in Bahrain, equating to a fixed line penetration of 21%. Fixed wireless services as a proportion of total fixed lines have increased from less than 1% in 2007 to 27% in 2011 and 35% in Q2 2013 due to the offers of Bahrain’s two WiMax operators.
The volume of international outgoing minutes has reached 2.6 billion minutes in 2012 compared to 2.05 billion minutes in 2011. After the stabilization of international call traffic in 2011, the volume of international outgoing minutes grew by 28% during 2012. International outgoing minutes originated on mobile represented 95% of total international outgoing minutes in 2012. During 2012, 85% of total international calls (minutes) were made to South Asian countries, while only 57% of international revenues were generated from calls to South Asian countries.
“The TRA’s decision in 2009 to allow the entry of a third mobile network operator continues to deliver significant benefits to the Kingdom’s economy and consumers,” TRA Chairman Dr. Mohammed Al Amer said.
“The greater competition among the mobile operators resulting from that decision is now having an impact on the fixed line market, and this is increasingly evident from the changing mix of calling patterns as well as the significant uptake of innovative mobile broadband services. The challenge for the TRA is to ensure that the regulatory framework which applies to the telecoms sector in Bahrain adequately reflects these competitive developments and continues to support competition and the interests of end users in the years to come. In this regard, TRA completed a number of important market reviews in the first half of 2013, including those relating to international capacity and mobile termination services, and is currently undertaking further market reviews in respect of broadband services and leased line services. These have been identified by the TRA and industry as important work streams as set out in the TRA’s Three Year Work Plan (2013-2015), which was published in March this year.”
The innovative and competitive offers of the telecoms operators in Bahrain have resulted in an increase in service penetration rates. The number of mobile subscribers has increased by 56% between 2008 and Q2 2013, with the mobile penetration rate increasing from 130% in 2008 to 182% in Q2 2013. The volume of mobile-originated calls has also increased significantly since 2008, by 216% in the case of domestic mobile volumes, and by 175% in the case of mobile-originated international calls.
The other notable observation during 2012 and the first half of 2013 has been the continuing strong growth in mobile broadband services. The high growth in these services in previous years was from a relatively low base, but we have continued to see very strong growth in the latest annual statistics.
The telecoms sector overall remains a major contributor to national wealth, with annual gross telecoms turnover estimated to be BD409 million in 2012, or 4% of GDP. The liberalization in the sector has created employment opportunities for highly skilled professionals, with approximately 3,100 employees working directly in the telecoms sector in 2012. A high proportion of these opportunities are being filled by Bahrainis, with the sector achieving 80% Bahrainisation. The number of employees has grown by 27% over the period between 2008 and 2012.
Dr Mohammed has praised the efforts of TRA, led by General Director Mohammed bin Hamad Bubshait, to promote competitive markets, encourage sustainable and efficient investment, and protect the interests of consumers of telecommunications services in Bahrain. TRA’s development of a professional and passionate team, and commitment to transparent and robust decision-making, has contributed to the positive indicators shown in the latest Market Indicators report”.