Annual Report 2008 - TRA - Telecommunication Regulatory Authority

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TRA Annual Report 2008
Working for Consumers
Batelco’s Chief Executive, Mr. Peter Kaliaropoulos, attended the April meeting. Members were able to discuss with
him directly issues of concern to consumers, including electronic billing, subsidised and special packages for low
income and special needs users, the speed of internet services and the cost of prepaid call services.
At their meeting in July the Group discussed the Telecommunications Consumers Protection Guidelines which TRA
proposed implementing in the Kingdom, the issue of signal levels from mobile base stations, and the draft regulation
on quality of service (see below).
The Business Users Advisory Group
Mr. Ahmed bin Hindi had been an active member of the predecessor business body in 2007 and was appointed to
chair this new Advisory Group. The Group provides input reflecting the views of business users ranging from small
companies to multinational organisations, and from industrial to service sectors.
During the year the members also met regularly and discussed issues including quality of service, the outcomes of
the Strategic and Retail Market Review and how they might raise awareness of their work. They also requested that
TRA remind service providers to notify consumers of any change to their service tariff well in advance and suggested
that TRA monitor this.
Association for Telecommunications Business Users
At their July meeting the Business Users Advisory Group put forward the idea of forming an independent association
of business users of telecommunications services. This is a model used successfully in the United Kingdom
through organisations such as the Communications Management Association (CMA) which plays an effective role in
representing its members’ interests in the communications sector. The Group invited Mr. David Harrington, Leader
of the Regulatory Affairs Forum of the CMA, to advise on the foundation of a similar association in the Kingdom of
Bahrain.
On 13 October the Business Users Advisory Group and TRA hosted a seminar for business leaders across all sectors
on the benefits of modern communications and the advantages an association would bring to businesses in the
Kingdom. Mr. Harrington gave a presentation on CMA’s experience.
Network security
At the beginning of the year TRA became aware of reports that there had been attempts to interrupt specific services
on telecommunications networks in the Kingdom. On 13 February TRA reminded operators of their obligations
to ensure the protection of customers. Any such incidents should be reported to the security authorities of the
Kingdom of Bahrain.
International roaming tariffs
Mobile phone customers travelling outside the Kingdom of Bahrain had been concerned because they did not know
in advance how much they would be charged for calls and text messages (SMS) overseas - known as international
roaming tariffs. At the end of March TRA began a consultation on a proposal to require mobile operators in the
Kingdom to notify their customers by SMS of these tariffs in the country they are visiting. The same service via
spoken message would be available for blind or partially-sighted customers on request.
With this information, customers could then choose their foreign operator or decide whether buying a local SIM card
at their destination would be a better option. The services covered would be the cost of calling or sending an SMS
to the Kingdom of Bahrain and the cost of receiving a call or SMS when abroad. In addition, information about the
mobile operator’s helpline and website would be supplied.
This proposal was in line with the recommendations of the Arab Council of Ministers for Telecommunications and
Information. The meeting of AREGNET in April also discussed international roaming charges (see Forging Links).
Retail tariffs
Until 2008 there was no comprehensive price comparison of main retail prices for Arab countries. TRA - Bahrain
commissioned a benchmarking study to fill this gap from independent consulting firm Teligen. The study compared
baskets of services for both business and residential customers with different usage profiles - low, medium and
high - and benchmarked these against results for countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD).