Batelco remains a pioneer in telecom sector in Bahrain

With 12 telephone customers in 1940’s, Bahrain has set a new benchmark in telecommunication industry as 70 years later down the road the country enjoys 1.5 million telephone subscribers backed by one of the most modern telecom infrastructures in the region, a top official at Batelco Bahrain said.

Batelco CEO Bahrain Rashid Abdulla told the IAA Ramadan Ghabgha that Bahrain has been pioneer in telecom sector in the region with the first telegram sent from Bahrain in July 1916. Tracing the rich telecom history of Bahrain, Rashid Abdulla told the audience that in 1933 telegram service was introduced in Bahrain.
“Cable & Wireless installed the first switch board imported second hand from India and the initial telephone customers were 12 and the company at that time set a target of reaching 100 customers,” he said. “In 1948 the first telephone exchange was established and Batelco which bought 60% of C&W shares was officially came into being in 1981 and propelled the development and progress of the telecom sector and helped the Kingdom to become the first digitised country in the region,” he said.
“Batelco introduce the pager service in 1986 known as ‘bleep’ and since the inception the company has become a part and parcel of the developed Bahrain. Batelco will remain at the forefront of the development of the Kingdom,” he added.