Bahrain’s leading telecommunications provider Batelco said it has successfully completed its annual corporate business continuity management plan rehearsal and testing.

The exercise is part of Batelco’s proactive approach in ensuring the delivery of crucial communications services for the Kingdom in the wake of any disaster, such as a major fire. To carry out the exercise it was simulated that malicious persons had set fire to external assets that impacted Batelco’s critical services.

As part of the testing exercise, Batelco Bahrain chief executive Rashed Abdulla declared the crisis after being briefed about the incident by GM Human Resource and Corporate Services Suhaila Alnowakhda and Batelco Emergency co-ordinator Maha Karim, said a statement from the telecom company.

Abdulla ordered the crisis management team  to assemble at Batelco Command Center, which is a dedicated secured location fully equipped to deal with emergency and crisis situations of this nature.

The damage assessment recovery team, that consists of security, facilities, access network, mobile, fixed, security operations, enterprise, consumer, wholesale and finance and also business continuity leaders and co-ordinators, performed an assessment of the crisis, it stated.

As part of a set crisis management framework, Batelco crisis management team  led by the chief executive, determined the impact of the ‘crisis’, in collaboration with the damage assessment recovery team, and agreed a proposed plan to deal with the situation to ensure the continuity of crucial telecommunications services for the Kingdom, said the statement.

During this simulated exercise, Batelco teams demonstrated that should the need arise, then they could together succeed not only in protecting the physical safety of employees and the local community, but also safeguard the interests of the company’s wider stakeholders, it added.-TradeArabia News Service