Bahrain’s telecommunications industry is breaking new ground, following the awarding of two new licences yesterday, after a multi-million-dinar bidding race.

An auction for two National Fixed Wireless Services (NFWS) licences was won by MTC-Vodafone Bahrain and Mena Telecom.

This allows for the first time the provision of voice telephony and data to customers in Bahrain, without the use of cables.

It also means that the winners can build their own wireless infrastructure without having to rely on the incumbent operator Batelco’s infrastructure.

The results were announced by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) at the opening of the financial bids, which took place at the Gulf Hotel’s Gulf International Convention and Exhibition Centre yesterday.

MTC-Vodafone Bahrain’s bid of BD5,500,050.920 and Bahrain-based Mena Telecom’s of BD4,534,000 were the two highest out of six qualified bidders.
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