Saturday, November 24, 2012

TWO WAY SATELLITE INTERNET FOR BAHRAIN


Telecommunications in Bahrain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Telecommunications in Bahrain officially began in 1981 when the Bahraini government founded the Bahrain Telecommunications Company. Since then, other companies such as Zain and VIVA have entered the telecommunications sector.


History

When Batelco was first founded in 1981, Bahrain already had 45,627 telephone lines in use. By 1982, the number reached 50,000. In 1985, the country's first fibre optic cable was installed. Batelco enjoyed being a monopoly in the telecommunications sector for the next two decades. By 1999, the company had around 100,000 mobile contracts.

In 2002, under pressure from international bodies, Bahrain implemented its telecommunications law which included the establishment of an independent Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).[1] In 2003, Batelco's monopoly over the sector broke when the TRA awarded a license to MTC Vodafone, which later re-branded itself as Zain. In January 2010, VIVA (a subsidiary of STC) started operations in Bahrain.


Telephonic services

Telephones - main lines in use: 194,200 (2006)
county comparison to the world: 124

Telephones - mobile cellular: 1,116,000 (2007)

    county comparison to the world: 132

Telephone system:
               general assessment: modern system
               domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly  growing use  of mobile cellular telephones
               international: country code - 973; landing point for the Fire-Optic Link Around the     Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Middle East,     Europe, and US; tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to     Saudi Arabia; satellite earth station - 1 (2007)


Broadcast radio

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)
Broadcast television

Television broadcast stations: 4 (1997)
Internet service
Main article: Internet in Bahrain


Internet country code: .bh

Internet hosts: 2,621 (2008)

    country comparison to the world: 135

Internet users: 250,000 (2007)

    country comparison to the world: 124

Internet in Bahrain


Bahrain has been connected to the internet since 1995, and made it readily available to its citizens. The country's domain suffix is '.bh'. A 2004 study showed a liberal filtering system is used in Bahrain, one which can be easily bypassed, however more recent events have shown more sophisticated and pervasive filtering.

In January 2009, Bahrain has started blocking a vastly increased number of sites through the Information Affairs Authority (IAA). The new filtering has had a noticeable impact in internet access speeds for all traffic.

As of 2010, there were about 694,000 internet users in Bahrain, or 55% of the population.


Internet penetration and usage


The growth in fixed telephone lines and the Internet has made Bahrain a regional information and communications technology leader. The country's connectivity score (a statistic which measures both Internet access and fixed and mobile telephone lines) is 210.4 percent per person, while the regional average in the Gulf States is 135.37 percent. The number of Bahraini Internet users has risen from 40,000 in 2000 to 250,000 in 2008, or from 5.95 to 33 percent of the population. The telecom market witnessed a remarkable development in November 2008 when Mena Telecom launched its nationwide WiMAX network, a service that provides high speed wireless voice and data services.

To encourage creativity in domestic online content, in 2005 Bahrain launched an e-content award organized by the eGovernment Authority in Bahrain and the Bahrain Internet Society. The goal of the award is to select quality online content and to promote creativity and innovation in the development of new media applications in Bahrain.

Bahrain’s online community is small but dynamic. As of January 2008, there were over 535 websites based in Bahrain, focusing on 25 different themes (e.g., public forums); 59 websites for governmental organizations; and about 200 blogs, the majority of which are anonymous blogs. Internet users in Bahrain use the Internet to debate sensitive issues and to exchange content that is not available in the traditional media. The authorities have blocked a number of news, religion, human rights, and humor Web sites run by Bahrainis and by non-Bahrainis, but users manage to access them using proxies.

Bahrain’s telecom market is regulated by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), which was established by Legislative Decree No. 48 of 2002 to protect the interests of subscribers and users and to promote effective and fair competition among established and new licensed operators. As of 2008, the TRA has licensed 22 Internet Service Providers, the largest of which is Batelco.


Internet Service Providers in Bahrain (ISP)

Batelco: Regional telecommunications company specialising in a broad range of communications services including mobile, national and international telephony, business network services, Internet and satellite services etc.

Zain: Regional telecommunications company specialising in a broad range of communications services including mobile, national and international telephony, business network services, Internet and satellite services.

Inet Email: E-mail service provided by Bahrain Telecommunications Company
VIVA: Providers of mobile phone services in Bahrain; part of The Saudi Telecommunication Group; provides call, messaging, Internet, roaming, Blackberry services etc.

Bahrain Internet Exchange (BIX): Body established by government decree to connect Internet Service Providers, in order to increase local traffic and content, as well as reduce the cost of purchasing international bandwidth.

Etisalcom: Providers of fully integrated ICT solutions for consumers & businesses; offers ETISL IP telephony, More international calling cards, national & international connectivity, Internet, hosting, comprehensive ICT solutions etc.

Mena Telecom: Telecommunications company based in Manama; services: carrier pre-select, two-way satellite, broadband applications, international prepaid calling cards, total communication solutions etc.

North Star Communications: Providers of Internet, telephony & VSAT services in Bahrain; offers pre-paid & post-paid international call services, international calling cards, Internet leased lines, ADSL services, web site development etc.
Nuetel Communications: Alternative telecommunications provider that offers converged services including voice, Internet & television over a single broadband connection; head office is in Amwaj Islands; strategic partners include Cisco Systems & British Telecom.

Lightspeed Communications: Lightspeed Communications is Bahrain's first alternative fixed-line telecommunications operator, offering value-added and innovative services for residential and business customers. Services offered includes voice & Internet ; head office is in Almoayyed Tower in Seef; strategic partners include Jordan Telecom.
 
Social Media in Bahrain
Social media has played a negative role and fuelled the unrest in Bahrain with "highly inflammatory" information, according to a report by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI).

The Commission stated that it was "aware" of the impact of the use of social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, has had on some major social and political events in the contemporary world.

"The commission found numerous examples of exaggeration and misinformation, some highly inflammatory, that were disseminated through social media," the report stated.

Another issue raised in the findings was that mainstream media in Bahrain ignored views of opposition groups.

"The lack of access to mainstream media creates frustration within opposition groups and results in these groups resorting to other media such as social media," stated the report.

This, it said, could have a "destabilising effect" because social media outlets were both untraceable and unaccountable, when such media was used to promulgate hate speech and incitement to violence.

The commission recommended the Bahrain government to relax censorship and allow the opposition greater access to television and radio broadcasts as well as print media.


Errors
The BICI team also met officials from Information Affairs Authority (IAA), who provided a file concerning the involvement of the international media in the events of February and March.


The IAA alleged that there was incitement practised by some foreign media against Bahrain.

It also stated that the international media made factual errors when reporting on events.

"Much of this material contained derogatory language and inflammatory coverage of events, and some may have been defamatory,"said the BICI.

"However, the commission did not find any evidence of media coverage that constituted hate speech or incitement to violence."

VSAT INTERNET FOR BAHRAIN






  Bahrain is within our satellite KU band service coverage via SES-4, AM44 and ARABSAT. See footprints below

See above the Middle East Map and trace Bahrain to the satellite coverage below. This means Bahrain people can avail of a two way data, voice, video and internet communications to the rest of the globe via any of these covering communication satellites.
What will be required are an ODU (Out Door Unit) composed of satellite dish antenna (VSAT), penetrating or non penetrating mount which can be aligned to the serving satellite by qualified engineer in no time; and an IDU (In Door Unit) composed of satellite modem or receiver/transmitter and a connection to the end user LAN (Local Area Network).



Governorates of Bahrain:Capital Governorate,Central Governorate, Muharraq Governorate, Northern Governorate, Southern Governorate.

Former Municipality :Al Hidd, Manama, Western Region, Central Region, Northern Region, Muharraq, Rifa and Southern Region, idd Haffs, Hamad Town, Isa Town, Hawar Islands, Sitra.




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Service Covering -Middle East and North Africa

Service Covering -Middle East and North Africa

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