The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in Bahrain has just released the 2011 update of the retail price benchmarking study into telecoms services in Arab countries. The study was commissioned by TRA on behalf of AREGNET (the Arab Regulators Network), and was conducted by the Teligen division of Strategy Analytics.

The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the cost of telecoms services for different types of user, and considers the cost of fixed and mobile voice, fixed and mobile broadband and leased lines across several Arab countries, as well as providing a comparison with average OECD (Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development) pricing. The development of prices since 2008 is also included.

The study found that Bahrain is one of the cheapest Arab countries across most services, and that in general, prices for telecoms services in Bahrain have fallen over the past four years. It concludes that in the past year, prices for telecommunications services in Arab countries have generally declined, although as prices have also been falling in other parts of the world, there remains an often substantial difference between prices in Arab countries and those in OECD / European countries, and that some areas in particular required closer attention

The full study results, along with detailed information on the methodology used, are available for download free of charge on TRA's website.