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Bahrain Telecommunications Report Q4 2009Product Type: Market Research ReportPublished by: Business Monitor International Published: October 2009 Product Code: R302-8315 Description BMI’s latest update on Bahrain’s telecommunications market contains new regulatory data on the size ofBahrain’s telecoms market at the end of 2008. It also includes data published by the country’s two leadingmobile operators, Batelco and Zain Bahrain, which shows how they performed in the first six months of2009. One notable development in the mobile market has been the shrinkage that has occurred in thenumber of mobile subscribers, particularly in the second quarter of 2009. By the end of June, Bahrain’smobile subscriber base was 1.5% lower than at the start of the year. The shrinking customer base appearsto be the result of moves by both operators to deduct inactive prepaid customers from their respectivecustomer totals.By the end of June 2009, Bahrain’s mobile penetration rate had risen to 141.5%. The high penetration ratepoints, not only to a multiple SIM ownership trend, but also to a significant number of inactive users. Thecontinuation of a high penetration rate means that we expect further deductions of inactive prepaidcustomers in the months ahead. In the meantime, we predict that the launch of commercial services byBahrain’s third mobile operator, Saudi Telecom Company, will result in a further stimulus for growth. By the end of 2009, we predict a market of just over 1.4mn mobile customers and a penetration rate of147%. We also anticipate strong growth in the number of 3G subscribers, predicting that over 28% of theBahraini mobile subscriber base will have 3G handsets at the end of 2009. The latest regulatory datashows that recent months have seen significant growth in the number of mobile broadband users. Meanwhile, in the fixed-line sector, the latest regulatory data shows that the number of fixed-linecustomers grew by 8.3% in 2008 to surpass 220,000 at the end of the year. It appears that recent fixedlinegrowth has been driven by the deployment of fixed wireless services by alternative operators such asKalaam Telecom. The sale of fixed wireless services to residential customers has helped to raise thelevel of household penetration to 78% (from 74% at the end of 2007). The successful deployment offixed-line services by alternative operators is also contributing to the steady erosion of Batelco’s marketshare. Alternative operators are also making headway in the fixed broadband sector, which saw growth of over37% in 2008 and which had a penetration rate of 8.8% at the end of the year. Within Bahrain’s broadbandmarket, BMI is predicting an average annual growth rate of over 7% over the next five years. Increasedcompetition in the ISP market has contributed to lower prices and a greater range of service options forconsumers. The recent deployment of WiMAX-based broadband networks is also helping to drive growthin the market, creating a viable alternative to fixed ADSL services. Table of Contents
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