The coordination of the use of specific frequency bands i.e., 880-915 MHz, 925-960 MHz, 1 710-1 785 MHz, 1 805-1 880 MHz, 1920-1 980 MHz and 2 110-2 170 MHz, for the purposes of preventing and/or solving spillover and harmful interference to the mobile service and optimizing the use of the frequency spectrum by the countries in agreement.
These include the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, as well as previously mentioned Iran.
“Technical and administrative measures had to be adopted to resolve the interference issue in the above-mentioned frequency bands and radio services, due to special meteorological conditions in the region and radio ducting which can increase the probability of interference. At the same time, the prediction of propagation of electromagnetic waves becomes more difficult,” a statement issued by the Minister’s office said.
Shaikh Fawaz termed the level of cooperation was critical for guarding the interests of consumers.
“If we don’t enact stronger cooperation in the region, Bahraini consumers who live close to borders may have their mobile phone switch over to a carrier in a neighboring country, which means they’d be billed for long-distance rates. This agreement will help eliminate these concerns.”
The permanent location of the GCC Telecom Bureau offices in Bahrain on land granted for that purpose was also announced yesterday in a meeting with the Director General of the GCC Telecom Bureau, Engineer Mahmood Sayyar. Shaikh Fawaz expressed his appreciation to His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa for the granted land as part of his reform and development project for the Kingdom.