Bahrain operator Batelco signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ericsson with the aim of exploring various 5G technologies which could help realise the country’s economic vision for 2030.

The agreement builds on an existing 5G partnership that the pair signed in 2019. They now intend to collaborate on Voice over New Radio (VoNR), standalone and cloud-native core solutions.

Other focus areas include NB-IoT and an advanced charging system to support low-power IoT devices.

Furthermore, Batelco wants to strengthen its enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) capabilities and explore the use of mmWave frequencies for fixed wireless access 5G services and more.

In June 2019, Batelco became the first operator in Bahrain to commercially launch non-standalone 5G services. In October 2020, it announced the network covered 95 per cent of the population.