Tomas Lamanauskas, Deputy Director General at the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority in Bahrain discusses how the country is liberalizing its communications provision and moving from service based competition to infrastructure based competition

1. Promotion of Broadband:
Insights from Bahrain
Tomas Lamanauskas
Deputy General Director

2. Promotion of Broadband
Applications
Infrastructure
Skills Equipment
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3. Infrastructure – Enabling Broadband
• No monopolies or exclusive rights
• Consumer choice
Effective • Facilitated by appropriate regulatory
measures
competition • Recognition of convergence of various
platforms
• Consumer protection
Supported • If really necessary – additional state support
in the form of the universal services / access
by: framework
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4. Infrastructure – Toolkit of Operators
Service-based Access Backbone/Backhaul International In Bahrain
Competition Wholesale DSL Available
Bitstream Available
Customer Access Local Leased Circuits International Private Available
Tails for OLOs Leased Circuits
Local Loop Will be available
Unbundling in 2009
Duct rental Available
Access to In principle
international landing available, but will
stations be defined
clearer
Ability to build own physical networks and Available, TTO
use of public and, if necessary, private land; will be
facilitated by the Telecommunications completed in
Technical Office (TTO) 2009
Infrastructure-
based VSAT Available
Competition Right to connect Available
directly and bring
own int. cables
Access to Spectrum Available

5. Infrastructure – Interplay of Various Modes of Access
• Fiber
– Business areas, e.g.
• Manama North Shore
• Industrial areas
– High-end residential
areas
• New residential /
mixed
developments
• Legacy copper
– Small and Medium Businesses
– Residential users
– Established more concentrated areas
• Esp. for Local Loop Unbundling
• Wireless
– Competition to copper
• Particularly taking into account price levels
Map: Arabian Exhibition – More remote areas
Management
– Mobility
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6. Infrastructure – Economies of Scale and Scope via
Regionalisation (example of the GCC)
Group Bahrain Kuwait Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia UAE
Batelco Qualitynet Etihad Atheeb
Attempt Telecommunicati
to enter on Company
Zain Zain Attempt Zain Saudi Arabia
Bahrain Kuwait to enter
Attempt Wataniya Nawras Qtel Bravo (through
to enter Telecom Wataniya
Telecom)
Attempt Etihad Etisalat – Etisalat
to enter Mobily
Third Saudi Telecom
mobile Viva
operator
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7. Applications
• Allowing people enjoy global choice
Global • Recognizing limitations to your jurisdiction
• Implementing appropriate safeguards
Distant • “My own old good hamlet wherever I go”
• Esp. in the countries with significant expat
Local population
• E-Government
Local • Support for private
initiatives
Image: www.gapingvoid.com

8. Applications
Clear framework for representation of public
interests, representing cultural, moral, religious
values of the society, is needed
Taking into Represented
Different from Understanding Taking into
account via clear, open
the differences account
changing and
economical- between interests of
trends of transparent
technical regions/ economic
media policies and
regulation countries development
consumption frameworks
Tailor-made
solution on
separation or
integration
into
overarching
ICT regulation
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9. Applications
• Closed v. Open
– Who should decide – market or regulators?
– How about the usual way – promote competition and
tackle market failures
• Creativity should be encouraged and not punished, but…
• Real market failures should be
remedied
– Regulators however need powers
to tackle market failures at the
intersection of the transport and
content/applications
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10. Applications
• Promotion of adequate intellectual property protection
and licensing arrangements
– Smaller countries risk being excluded
– Balance between the rights of creators and the public
• Intero-
perability
• Usability
– Protection
from
competition
from illegal
activities
• E.g. “Dream-
boxes”

11. Skills
• Internet super-generation is here:
• 84 percent Germans aged 19-29
would prefer Internet to their partner
or a car (Reuters)
• Ability to separate “good” from “bad” is important
• Skill building is still needed:
• HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa's Schools of the
Future project
• Batelco Live
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12. End-User Equipment
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13. Key Words
Empower
users
Enable
Safeguard Encourage
Innovation
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14. Thank You
Tomas Lamanauskas
Deputy General Director
TRA Bahrain
Tel: +973 1752000; Fax: +973 1753 2125
Email: tlamanauskas@tra.org.bh; www.tra.org.bh
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