The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the Kingdom of Bahrain has published its Compliance Priorities Program 2025 Scorecard, assessing the country’s three mobile operators, Batelco, stc, and Zain, against six regulatory focus areas. The scorecard uses a mystery-shopping methodology built around a weighted, multi-level indicator hierarchy. Overall compliance scores came in at 92 percent for Batelco, 92 percent for stc, and 87 percent for Zain. The results highlight both strong overall performance and specific gaps in coverage transparency and advertising accuracy across the sector.
Overview of Bahrain's 2025 Compliance Priorities Program
TRA’s Compliance Priorities Program evaluates operators across six focus areas: Consumer Protection and Regulatory Adherence, Roaming, Number Portability, Transparency of Retail Service Packages, Billing Transparency, and Contract Summary. Performance is measured through a mystery-shopping methodology, with results scored against a Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 weighted indicator hierarchy. This structure allows TRA to assess not only whether operators meet baseline obligations, but how consistently they do so across multiple touchpoints.
Key Gaps in 5G Coverage Disclosure and Advertising Accuracy
Among the most notable findings, Zain was found non-compliant, scoring 0 percent, on the requirement to publish 5G coverage maps in line with its quality of service (QoS) obligations. Separately, the accuracy of advertising claims emerged as a sector-wide weak point, with all three operators, Batelco, stc, and Zain, achieving only 50 percent partial compliance on this sub-indicator. Additional mixed results, ranging from compliant to partial to non-compliant, were recorded across roaming SMS alert notifications and billing transparency sub-indicators.
Regulatory Framework Behind Bahrain's Telecom Consumer Protections
The Compliance Priorities Program is grounded in TRA’s existing consumer protection framework, including the Code of Practice for the Handling of Consumer Complaints (2015), the Consumer Protection Regulation (2017), and Consumer Protection Undertakings made by operators. These instruments form the basis against which TRA measures operator performance on billing, roaming, number portability, and service package transparency each program year.
Implications for Telecom Operators and Market Compliance in Bahrain
The 2025 scorecard gives Bahrain’s mobile operators a clear, publicly benchmarked view of where their consumer protection practices stand relative to TRA’s regulatory expectations. Gaps such as Zain’s non-compliance on 5G coverage map publication and the sector-wide shortfall on advertising claims accuracy point to specific compliance areas operators will need to address ahead of future program cycles. For companies monitoring Bahrain’s telecom regulatory landscape, the scorecard offers a transparent benchmark of how consumer protection, billing, and service transparency obligations are being enforced in practice.
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Quick Country Facts
Bahrain
Certification Body: Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA)
Certification Type: Mandatory
License Validity: 36 Months
Application Language: English
Legal License Holder: Manufacturer
In-Country Testing Requirement: Testing Not Required
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