Bahrain’s Telecommunications Company (Batelco) signed Tuesday an agreement with the Swedish Ericsson group to expand the Gulf state’s mobile network, reported the Gulf Daily.
BATELCO will expand the GSM system to accommodate 320,000 customers, said the paper, adding that its current GSM customer capacity is 230,000.
Ericsson will also provide and install a transit switch to accommodate traffic growth and to contribute to the development of an integrated network based on Internet Protocol (IP) to carry voice and data traffic.
Bahrain’s mobile users ratio stood at 33 percent in 2000, said the Daily.
Earlier this month, the company announced that it will cede its monopoly and open the telecom market for outsiders.
At present, Batelco is the only company providing telecommunication services in Bahrain.
Batelco was established in 1981 as a Bahraini shareholding company.
Batelco's shareholders include the Bahraini government, leading financial and commercial organizations, and Bahraini citizens -- Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
