Percentage of individuals using internet in Bahrain has grown to 98% According to TRA’s latest Survey

Bahrain ranked 2nd globally for internet users according to the World Economic Forum’s Report

Mobilk - Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) Bahrain has published its latest Telecommunications Services Residential Market Survey report.

The results confirm that competition in the telecommunications sector has significantly contributed to the provision of telecommunications services to citizens and residents in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The results indicate that all respondents have access to a mobile phone, and 98% of respondents have access to internet services compared to 89% in 2015, while a low percentage of respondents have access to a fixed lines service.  Moreover,  the percentage of individuals using the Internet reached 98% in Bahrain. 

According to ITU data and the Global Competitiveness Report (2017-2018) that was published at the end of September 2017 by the World Economic Forum, the Kingdom of Bahrain is at the forefront of countries in terms of internet penetration and usage; Bahrain is ranked 1st globally for mobile broadband penetration and 2nd for internet users.

According to TRA’s survey, 31% of the respondents have multiple mobile SIM cards instead of only one, primarily in order to take advantage of various promotions that mobile operators offer, or to use separate SIMs for voice and mobile data, or to have separate SIMs for business or personal use. This percentage has decreased compared to the 2015 survey’s results, where it was 41%, which indicates that mobile services have evolved to suit the requirements of users.

With respect to internet usage, the survey shows that the use of social networking sites is the main internet activity for 93% of internet users, followed by the email by 71% and downloading multimedia content by 70%. 

“We place great importance to the views of telecoms users in the Kingdom when reviewing developments in the telecommunications sector and establishing future strategies and decisions that encourage competition and protect the interests of users. We are also keen to collect this data in a scientific manner according to international standards." Says Sh. Nasser Bin Mohamed Al Khalifa, Acting General Director of TRA. “We are pleased to see that the results of this survey and the latest reports published by international organizations confirm that we are moving forward to achieve the Governments vision for the sector that Bahrain will remain at the forefront of digital developments, within the region and globally, as stipulated in the Fourth National Telecommunications Plan." Added Sh. Nasser.

The survey covers a representative sample of 1621 respondents aged 15 years and above, examines the usage of and access to different telecommunications services including fixed lines, mobile phones and internet services. The survey also measures the extent to which users are satisfied with their telecommunications services, OTT services and the Number Portability feature.

For the first time in 2016, the survey covered information related to using e-commerce in the Kingdom. 29% of the survey sample reported engaging in e-commerce activities mainly for shopping. For those who did not engage in e-commerce activities, the main reason was that they consider online shopping to be unsafe.  

With regards to users’ satisfaction, the Telecommunications Services Market Survey indicated that overall user satisfaction with telecommunications services in Bahrain is high. The survey shows that 82% of respondents are satisfied with their overall fixed line services, 90% are satisfied with their overall mobile services, and 84% are satisfied with their overall internet services.