Recently released market study: Bahrain Telecommunications Report Q1 2011

Dec. 11, 2010 - PRLog -- New mobile entrant VIVA continues to make its presence felt, seeing established operators Batelco and Zain report subscriber losses since the operator began offering services. To some extent the declines reported are to be expected in a market that is still so heavily reliant on prepaid services. A combination of inactive subscriptions and an increasing look towards postpaid contracts is responsible for the decline in subscribers too, with VIVA's entrance merely compounding the issue. BMI believes the newcomer continued to add more subscribers than its rivals, boosting market growth, but we do expect this to be temporary.

Incumbent Batelco refers to the market's strong competition in its financial results, highlighting the pressures on its margins and subscriber base. The company lost broadband connections in the third quarter of 2010 and BMI expects the operator will continue to face pressure as rival operators expand their offerings and drive up competition.

In BMI's Business Environment Ratings, Bahrain moved from fifth to third, with the faster growth rate introduced by VIVA's entrance to the market and an increase in ARPU in late 2009 and the first quarter of 2010. Zain, the only operator to give a breakdown of its ARPU saw it decline again in Q210, but BMI expects the operator's ARPUs to trend gradually upwards as it furthers its drive to encourage postpaid takeup, generating higher revenues and more stable income. We also anticipate a greater reliance on value-added services (VAS) and mobile content to drive revenues in the coming quarters.

All forecasts have been extended to reach 2015, with all markets seeing a slowdown. Notably the fixedline market is expected to slow to such an extent that the penetration rate begins to drop towards the end of our forecast period. BMI sees the continued interest in mobile services and greater reliance on mobile data as an alternative to fixed data having a strong downward pull on fixed-line growth.

Shortly before publication, the TRA announced a draft order for allowing alternative operators to have access to Batelco's network on a wholesale basis. This will be discussed in detail in the next report.

For more information or to purchase this report, go to:
-  http://www.fastmr.com/prod/100648_bahrain_telecommunicati...

Report Table of Contents:

Executive Summary
SWOT Analysis
- Bahrain Mobile SWOT
- Bahrain Wireline SWOT
- Bahrain Political SWOT
- Bahrain Economic SWOT
- Bahrain Business Environment SWOT
Business Environment
- Middle East And North Africa
- Bahrain
- Table: Regional Telecoms Business Environment Ratings
Industry Forecast Scenario
- Mobile
- Table: Telecoms Sector - Mobile - Historical Data & Forecasts 2008-2015
- Fixed Line
- Table: Telecoms Sector - Fixed Line - Historical Data & Forecasts 2008-2015
- Internet
- Table: Telecoms Sector - Internet - Historical Data & Forecasts 2008-2015
Market Data Analysis
- Mobile
- Table: Bahrain Mobile Market, Q210
- ARPU
- 3G
- Mobile Contract Wins
- Table: Mobile Contract Wins
- Mobile Content
- Regional Outlook
- Country Outlook
- Mobile TV
- Mobile Banking
- Value-Added Services Timeline
- Table: Selected VAS Services
- Mobile Operator Data
- Table: Bahrain Mobile Market Overview
- Table: Batelco
- Table: Zain (MTC-Vodafone)
- Fixed Line
- Table: Number Of Fixed Telephone Lines
- Table: Services Offered By Licensees, June 2009
- VoIP
- Fixed-Line Service Revenues
- Internet
- WiMAX
- Internet Service Revenues
- Wireline Contract Wins
- Table: Wireline Contract Wins
Regulatory Environment & Industry Developments
- Table: Bahrain Regulatory Bodies And Their Responsibilities
- Legislation And Market Liberalisation
- Regulation
- Licensing And Spectrum
- Competition Policy
- Mobile Termination Rates
- Industry Developments
Competitive Landscape
- Key Players
- Table: Key Players: Bahrain Telecoms Sector
- Table: Bahrain Financial Indicators
Company Monitor
- Middle East and Africa Vendor Profile: Cisco Systems
- Table: Cisco Financial Performance, 2007-2010 (US$ mn)
- Table: Cisco Systems Recent Contract Wins in Africa and the Middle East
Operator Profiles
- Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco)
- Zain (Formerly MTC Bahrain)
Regional Telecommunications Penetration Overview
- Fixed Line
- Table: Regional Fixed-Line Penetration Overview
- Mobile
- Table: Regional Mobile Penetration Overview
- Broadband
- Table: Regional Broadband Penetration Overview
Country Snapshot: Bahrain Demographic Data
- Section 1: Population
- Table: Demographic Indicators, 2005-2030
- Table: Rural/Urban Breakdown, 2005-2030
- Section 2: Education and Healthcare
- Table: Education
- Table: Vital Statistics, 2005-2030
- Section 3: Labour Market and Spending Power
- Table: Employment Indicators
- Table: Consumer Expenditure, 1999-2004 (US$)
- Table: Average Annual Wages
Glossary Of Terms
- Table: Glossary Of Terms
BMI Methodology
- How We Generate Our Industry Forecasts
- Table: Key Indicators For Telecommunications Industry Forecasts
- Telecoms Business Environment Ratings
- Risk/Reward Ratings Methodology
- Ratings System
- Indicators
- Table: Ratings Indicators
- Weighting
- Table: Weighting Of Indicators
- Sources

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Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. We represent the world's top research publishers and analysts and provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available.