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Total subscriptions: 266,659 (2020)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 15.67 (2020 est.)
Total subscriptions: 1,748,672 (2020)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 102.8 (2020 est.)
General assessment: Bahrain is one of the most technically advanced and connected countries in the world; NGN for increased mobile and Wi-Fi traffic; mobile infrastructure and fiber-optic Internet allows greater Internet penetration and competitive prices; government provides free Internet in schools and public areas, and national broadband with sole control over network; regulator controlled by monarchy; Internet freedom restricted through blocks; well served by satellite and submarine cable access; importer of broadcasting equipment from UAE (2020)
Domestic: 17 per 100 fixed-line, 116 per 100 mobile-cellular; modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly expanding mobile-cellular telephones (2020)
International: Country code - 973; landing points for the FALCON, Tata TGN-Gulf, GBICS/MENA, and FOG submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, the Middle East, and Africa; tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth station - 1 (2019)
Note: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments