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INTERNET CHEAPER?MANAMA, Aug 01, 2010 (Gulf Daily News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Cheap and faster Internet services are on the way following a new ruling by Bahrain's telecoms supremo. Batelco has been told to grant rival operator Menatelecom access to its international Internet facilities at just a fraction of the price it was demanding. It is hoped that granting Internet Service Providers (ISPs) cheaper access to the web will drive down the cost for customers, improve web performance and increase download thresholds. "Determining the price for this service removes the final barrier to direct access to international facilities and will allow Menatelecom and other licensed operators greater commercial freedom and lower costs than previously available to them directly through Batelco," said Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) market and competition director Dr Alex Serot. The GDN exclusively revealed last year that Bahrain's ISPs were unhappy that they had to go through Batelco to provide their own customers with web access -- saying this was driving up costs and limiting their service. But the country's telecom watchdog has ordered Batelco to slash the price for allowing its competitor, Menatelecom, to access cables that connect Bahrain to the worldwide web. The TRA has now fixed the total charge for the web access at BD9,749 a year -- 79 per cent less than the BD45,600 Batelco was seeking. To see more of the Gulf Daily News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.gulf-daily-news.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Gulf Daily News, Manama, Bahrain Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544). |