Bahrain: Bahrain said on Tuesday that it hopes to provide commercial 5G services by June, pending availability of consumer handsets and equipment.

The Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, has announced that preparations for the rollout of 5G networks in the kingdom are complete.

All of the regulatory hurdles to full 5G implementation have been resolved, with the licensing and spectrum allocation set to be finalised by mid-April by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), he said.

He added that mobile operators in the kingdom have already begun rolling out the necessary network infrastructure.

“Our leadership in 5G reflects Bahrain’s appetite for innovation and sends a signal to the world that we can be a test-bed for some of the most transformative technologies. There were a lot of hurdles along the way – ensuring spectrum availability as soon as possible was a big challenge, but overcoming these obstacles exemplifies the support and cooperation amongst all stakeholders in Bahrain and demonstrates how Bahrain can move quickly, deliver enormous progress against an accelerated timeframe, and be a partner to technology leaders,” said the minister.

Successful commercial trials for 5G technology in Bahrain were held in June 2018.

One major benefit of 5G technology is enabling higher volume of data transmission at higher speeds, while potentially supporting interactive technologies like virtual reality and helping enable the growth of improved video streaming and high-end gaming.