Bahrain's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has had another tremendously productive year, delegates at its end of year review were told.

The review, attended by senior members of the industry, looked at the highlights of the year and discussed the work plan for the coming 12 months.

The meeting concluded with an open dialogue during which TRA discussed with the delegates how the regulatory framework can best be used to enhance the development of sustainable competition in the kingdom's telecommunications markets.

'This has been another tremendously productive year for the industry and once again TRA Bahrain has been recognised regionally as a leading light for its approach with respect to competitive service provision and transparency in its decision-making,' said deputy general director Rob Middlehurst.

'The advent of Viva launching its services in the market also provided a significant stimulus to consumer choice and competition in the mobile sector,' he added.

'The telecommunications sector has a significant collective responsibility to support the economic development of Bahrain,' he added.

'TRA has and will continue to work closely with all licensed operators and stakeholders to support the collective success of the sector and where possible to minimise barriers to entry.

'Continued success in the development of competition within the kingdom ensures that a wider choice of service offerings, providers and increased value for money is offered to consumers in Bahrain,' he added.

Middlehurst reviewed how the telecommunications sector has developed over the past 12 months, what has been achieved and what is planned for the next year.

He also highlighted key projects to be finalised to support further competition.

They include local loop unbundling, number portability and the radio frequencies release plan.

The end of year review meeting hosted in the TRA office yesterday was attended by 30 key individuals from 14 licensed operators.-TradeArabia News Service