A CALL to remove outdated telecom wooden poles and overhead cables from residential areas across Bahrain has gone out from municipal councillors.
The Southern Municipal Council unanimously approved an urgent proposal requiring the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) to come up with a timeline for their removal.
Government officials had told Bahrain’s municipal councils in 2011 that the poles and cables would be removed within five years, members heard.
“The old wooden poles and overhead cables are ugly, unnecessary and dangerous,” said Southern Council chairman Abdulla Abdullatif.
“The removal promise was made ‘five years’ from 2011, and not 50 years! Yet we continue to wait. We are seeking a new deadline that we hope will be respected this time.
“In 2023, at a time when the country is dependent on underground fibre Internet connections, phone masts and satellite communication, these outdated poles and cables give the impression that we are backwards while, in fact, we are quite advanced in the telecom field.”
Present during the debate at the Southern Municipality headquarters in West Riffa were officials from the TRA and Bahrain Network (Bnet).
Bahrain ranks among the top 20 countries worldwide in fibre penetration, according to the 2023 Fibre to The Home (FTTH) Broadband Global Ranking, published by FTTH Council Europe.
Moving forward with connectivity appears to have its challenges too, the meeting heard.
“The TRA or Bnet should also check that whenever underground Internet connections are made, the holes in the road are sealed and restored to their original condition by assigned contractors,” said Mr Abdullatif.
“This appears to be a recurring issue and such negligence needs to be stopped with heavy fines imposed on violators.
“We are dependent on the Internet, but leaving roads in a disastrous state is not acceptable.”
As of June 2023, 68pc of households have active fibre connections and 42pc of households have wireless home broadband (5G) which means that all households in Bahrain have access to ultra-fast broadband services.
The latest residential survey by TRA highlights that 100pc of people in Bahrain use Internet services, and 100pc of households have access to ultra-fast Internet services.
The kingdom’s commitment to providing high-speed Internet services is evident from the fact that 86pc of all residential premises are now able to buy fibre broadband.
The report also highlights that Bahrain’s leased line prices are among the cheapest in GCC, below the Arab average, and on par with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average.
Noting that the telecommunications industry in the country is growing rapidly, the TRA said that Bahrain has recorded a 7.6pc rise in fibre broadband subscriptions and a 7pc increase in fixed broadband data usage between 2021 and 2022.
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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