The 5 Gs of Bahrain’s master plan

Back in January, Bahrain’s Economic Development Board CEO, Khalid Al Rumaihi was standing on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the beautiful mountainous town of Davos, in the Swiss Alps. He was on a mission to help speed growth for his nation’s financial and technology sectors. 

Surrounded by a wealth of foreign investors and potential partners, he described the event as “business speed dating”, claiming to have made more than eight bilateral deals with a specific focus on ICT and logistics.

Just a few short months later, in May, Bahrain announced the fourth National Telecommunications Plan (NTP), which aims to improve connectivity and data transfer speeds, on top of a plan to rollout fiber optic coverage across the Kingdom.

The NTP’s objective is simple: build Bahrain into a regional ICT powerhouse. 

With the country’s telecommunications companies having to diversify their portfolios and lean towards communications and data offerings, high-speed broadband services, and improved infrastructure are a priority. Broadband revenues have significantly increased in the Kingdom in recent years, with subscribers going from 1.63 million in 2013, to two million this year. 

One of the key pillars underpinning this growth is the implementation of the very latest technology. In 2013 saw the first 4G networks in the country but with its eyes to the future, Bahrain has set its sights to rollout 5G in the nation around 2018.

As one of the world’s leading telecom infrastructure companies investing billions in R&D, Huawei’s commitment to the future of the telecommunications industry is clear. Here are five Gs that we believe are critical to Bahrain achieving its goal of becoming a regional ICT powerhouse:

Global best practices: 

For growing nations like Bahrain to achieve their desired standards, global technology leaders, like Huawei, must demonstrate the international standards set by some of the leading countries in today’s challenging markets. These standards will help accelerate growth and education across the Kingdom.

But with Gulf values:

Leveraging local resources, further understanding the unique market trends, and ensuring local partners are engaged will result in better decision-making, and ultimately a better environment for customers and citizens. 

Greater everything:

Greater collaborations, greater investment into innovation, greater services, and greater infrastructure will make for a greater ICT industry. Bahrain is showing positive signs in all these areas.

Going the distance:

Having a long-term goal, such as the NTP, will lay out a successful route to the future for the Kingdom, creating new job opportunities, supporting small businesses, and encouraging better communication.

Next Generation:

Finally, with all these elements in place, Bahrain should be able to position itself as one of the major ICT powerhouses of the Arab World, driving forward the next generation of innovation in this economically-critical sector.

ICT is a key enabler for Bahrain’s economic diversification and competitiveness goals. But more than that, the opportunity to stimulate competition among operators, develop local talent, and deliver excellent services to its citizens, is central to Huawei’s commitment to the region. 

Huawei’s near-30-year track record of innovation and experience of the global ICT sector will ensure that it is able to support Bahrain’s telecommunications industry through the next stage of its development. The company’s unique cloud-pipe-device strategy delivered through its three business groups – carrier network, enterprise and consumer – provides clarity of purpose which underpins its comprehensive product portfolio. Huawei is also committed to building Bahrain’s knowledge economy by helping train local talent in the next generation of telecommunications products and services.

Alongside the operators, ministries and the TRA, Huawei is committed to building a better connected Bahrain.