Bahrain’s integrated telecom provider Batelco has said it is in the final stage of a $57 million plan to extend its broadband services across the kingdom.

Batelco aims to make Bahrain the first country in the world with complete countrywide broadband, the telecom firm said in a statement.
The migration has already been completed in the Northern and Southern Governorates and a further two areas, Mahooz and Gudabiya are being migrated to the new services within weeks.
The broadband services network will be completed by the end of September, said a company official.
The Next Generation Network (NGN) services facilitate triple play - voice, data and video - on a single line, the firm said.
The service will allow new customers to connect to Batelco Broadband Internet within one day, from a process that usually took two weeks prior to migration.
“Batelco’s NGN will deliver our promise to bring affordable broadband access to all of Bahrain’s households and enable an e-lifestyle for all residents sharing information, education and entertainment” said Batelco Group board secretary and company spokesman Ahmed Al Janahi.
The project, which will be completed by the end of the third quarter of this year, will put Batelco’s customers among the best connected in the world.
“Batelco continues to invest millions annually in Bahrain’s infrastructure. Since 1981 the company has invested $1.4 billion, to ensure residents can avail themselves of world-class communi-cations services, and further improve Bahrain’s competitiveness by positioning the kingdom as a natural choice for communications-intensive companies to locate their regional headquarters,” said Al Janahi.