2008-06-08 17:55:30 -

- Telecommunications Regulatory Authority Dana Chehab Director of Communications and Consumer Affairs Tel: +973 17 520000 Mobile: +973 39710033 Fax: +973 17 532125 The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the Kingdom of Bahrain today issued an invitation to consultancy firms to submit their proposals for developing competition guidelines and tariff notification guidelines.

TRA's General Director, Mr. Alan Horne, commented

as follows: "The development of competition and tariff notification guidelines is essential for the move towards a more competitive environment in which regulation is progressively adjusted to better reflect market conditions. With the implementation of the measures resulting from the Strategic and Retail Market Review, we expect to see more competitive services offered to consumers. The regulatory process therefore needs to be enhanced by strong competition and tariff notification guidelines to avoid anticompetitive practices and ensure sustainable competitive environment."

The competition guidelines will give the market clarity regarding the practices that may be deemed anticompetitive and how TRA will analyse allegations of anti-competitive conduct.

The second set of guidelines, the Tariff Notification Guidelines, will set out how Batelco will ensure its compliance with its obligations contained in the tariff notification framework TRA is currently developing and will support the objective of promoting competition for the benefits of consumers.

TRA anticipates that the service offerings of market players will become more sophisticated as Batelco and other licensed operators leverage their network capabilities and offer bundles of services to customers. The overall market is also expected to become more competitive as a result of the removal of tariff approval requirements for certain services and the entry of a third mobile network operator. TRA consequently expects an increase in the number of anticompetitive complaints, as such it is essential to develop competition and tariff notification guidelines for a smooth transition towards a more competitive market.

More information regarding the request for proposals document developing competition guidelines and tariff notification guidelines can be viewed on TRA's website www.tra.org.bh/en/pdf/Termsofreferencecompetitionand notificationguidelinesFinal.pdf.

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The Deadline for submitting the proposals is by 9:00 am local time on 6 July 2008.

About TRA

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) was established by Legislative Decree No. 48 of 2002 promulgating the Telecommunications Law. TRA is an independent body and its duties and powers include, among other things, protecting the interests of subscribers and users and promoting operators effective and fair competition among existing and new licensed operators. More information regarding TRA can be viewed at www.tra.org.bh.

-- The guidelines will facilitate a smooth transition towards more
competitive market --