Mobile tariff deregulation proposed in Bahrain

Bahrain's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has published its ‘Strategic and Retail Market Review’ for public consultation. The document is aimed at determining in which markets 'competition has developed enough to allow the relaxation of certain regulatory controls', and looking to encourage further access and infrastructure competition before staging a gradual withdrawal from retail regulation as competition advances. The review's conclusions state that competition in the fixed line retail market 'is not yet effective'. It reveals that the regulator now believes the introduction of a 'transitional retail price cap' is the answer to protect consumers while ensuring a fair return for incumbent operator Batelco. In a major development, the regulator also said it is set to remove all regulatory requirements on the retail pricing of mobile telephony. While taking action to 'ease entry' to the mobile market, the TRA said it has no immediate plans to begin the formal process of issuing a licence for a third mobile phone operator.

Frontier (London) advised the TRA on market analysis, assessment of competition and development of regulatory policies.