A project expected to increase Bahrain's access to the worldwide web and bring down Internet prices was announced yesterday by the country's telecom watchdog.

It involves laying an 18km transmission network of cables and ducts from Salmaniya to the King Fahad Causeway, allowing Bahraini company Gateway Gulf to tap into the Saudi cyber network.

Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) general director Alan Horne revealed it was being done in conjunction with Zain Bahrain and the Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC) - the third mobile company to be awarded a mobile licence in Bahrain.

It means Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Bahrain now have another option.

'We are tremendously excited with what has been announced as one of the TRA's highest priorities is to increase the international capacity on and off the island,' Horne told our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News.

The project will cost $3 million.

'This not only supports Bahrain's Economic Vision 2030, but also provides competitive access and increases to a certain extent diversity of the Internet product in the kingdom.

'This is one of the first major initiatives to be announced and it's also a milestone in the development of the market in that operators have worked together to share not only infrastructure, but investment as well.'

Horne described the deal as a landmark in Bahrain's communications that should have a significant impact on every web user.

The project will allow each operator the chance to lay fibre optic cabling, which will link up with infrastructure in Saudi Arabia - granting providers in Bahrain an alternative to reach the worldwide web.

Operators will also be able to expand their local networks across Bahrain as a result.

Horne said that as similar 'electronic causeways' start springing up, there would be less risk of Bahrain being cut of from the information superhighway.

'In communications we don't just have one causeway anymore,' he said.

'We have several routes off the island.

'Just as lorries and cars get chock-a-block on the causeway if there's a problem, the same can happen on an electronic highway.

'But with this new project we will see fewer bottlenecks on the Island, so we should see prices coming down.'

Horne said he believed the Gateway Gulf project could play a major role in attracting international IT companies to the country.

'Everyone accessing the Internet (in Bahrain) is paying a high price, is experiencing restricted Internet speeds and download limits,' he said.

'As international capacity increases and there is more competition, prices will come down and more capacity will be made available to operators - and in turn greater freedom of choice to consumers.

'In addition, we believe that this new project will provide a platform for internationally renowned organisations such as Google, Yahoo and Amazon to set up upon the project's completion.'

Gateway Gulf chairman Tariq Hussain praised the role of the TRA and the government in securing the deal, pointing out it would have been very difficult to achieve what they had without their support.

'Thanks to the government of Bahrain and the TRA, we are now able to open access to international carriers - which will reduce costs and stimulate our economy,' he said.

'Congratulations to Bahrain for taking the initiative to become a true regional business hub.'

Meanwhile, Zain Bahrain network director Essam Zainal said the firm was delighted that Bahrain had taken a massive step towards establishing a fibre-optic based backbone to the communications industry.

'We are pleased to be part of such a milestone joint project to create a more level playing field in the telecoms s