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Forward-thinking telecommunications policies and a business-friendly climate have made Bahrain perhaps the best country in the Middle East for VoIP investment, according to a new white paper by VoIP infrastructure provider, REVE Systems.

Bahrain was the first Middle East country to liberalize its telecommunications market, according to the REVE paper, opening its market to competition in 2004. It does not impose restrictions on VoIP, has some of the region’s lowest taxes, and allows complete foreign ownership in many cases.

The country also has a solid network infrastructure, according to REVE, with nationwide 4G as of 2013, with download speeds up to 100 Mbps higher than the

previous 3G mobile network capability.

“Bahrain’s liberal business policies and advanced infrastructure for information, communications and technology (ICT) sector enable this country to stand apart in the Middle East, both as a thriving domestic marketplace and as a base for accessing the growing regional market,” noted the REVE paper.

Telecom subscriber growth has been on the rise, with roughly 2.25 million mobile subscribers in Bahrain out of a total population of roughly 1.332 million. Yes, that’s mobile penetration of roughly 182 percent.

Among that total, roughly 1 million were the active mobile broadband subscribers, with the majority of mobile use coming from the prepaid sector (82 percent).

While 45 percent of Bahrainis prefer to use their mobile phone for calling, according to the REVE paper, 30 percent said they prefer VoIP for calling and another 25 percent said they prefer making calls from call shops. Since call shops mostly use VoIP, this highlights the great opportunity for VoIP providers in the region.

“I have chosen Bahrain because of its large population and liberal government policies,” noted Yasar Arafath, owner of VoIP provider, Smart Network. “It is the only country in the Middle East where VoIP is legal. Apart from that, because of the cheap data plans and easy availability of high speed 4G network, percentage of internet users is quite high. So because of this I am running my business successfully in this country.”

Arafath said that nearly 70 percent of his total revenue comes from Bahrain, and the country is a great place for VoIP offerings.

VoIP rates are much cheaper than what other mobile network service providers are offering, according to REVE, so Bahraini nationals prefer VoIP as one of the main modes of making international calls.