Batelco has announced that its 5G network now covers 95% of the Kingdom’s population across all four governorates, making it the first operator in Bahrain to provide nationwide 5G coverage. The telco signed an agreement with hardware vendor Ericsson in March 2019 to deploy a national 5G mobile network over a period of two years and went on to launch the country’s first commercial fifth-generation network on 5 June 2019. Initially limited to Amwaj and Reef Island, coverage was gradually extended to areas of the Northern, Southern, Muharraq and Capital governates by early 2020.
Batelco CEO Mikkel Vinter commented: ‘Covering Bahrain with 5G is a key strategic goal for Batelco, both at the corporate and national level. It’s a technology that will change the telecom industry as we know it today and will open up endless possibilities in the digital space.’