Viva Bahrain introduces BlackBerry
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Bahrain’s newest mobile operator, Viva Bahrain which launched in March this year, has partnered Alcatel-Lucent and Research In Motion (RIM) to introduce the latter’s BlackBerry devices.
It has also planned to unveil software applications for its customers. Users of the BlackBerry smartphone can get access to e-mail, web, multimedia and other business and lifestyle applications.
Viva Bahrain launches ‘Viva TV’
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: ‘Viva TV’ mobile television service has been introduced by Bahrain’s newest mobile operator Viva, owned by Saudi Telecom Company (STC). The new service will allow customers to watch more than 20 channels such as sports, entertainment, movies, fashion and live news.
The cost of the TV is BHD1 (USD2.67) per week with no additional fees. The service is available both post- and pre-paid packages, for users of all 3G supported handsets.
Viva Bahrain’s commercial GSM/W-CDMA/HSPA+ network were launched in early March 2010.
Viva Bahrain begins operations
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Viva Bahrain, Bahrain’s third mobile network and a subsidiary of Saudi Telecom Company (STC) opened its doors to the customers by launching its commercial services. Mobile broadband access at speeds of up to 21Mbps, packaged with unlimited downloads is included in the service spread across Bahrain.
Wireless broadband at peak speeds of 7.2Mbps via a single router could be enjoyed by upto five people. Free calls and SMS within its Bahraini network and free calls to STC numbers in Saudi Arabia will be offered by Viva for the next three months. 90% discounts on calls made to 18 popular international destinations will also be offered by the operator.
The 3G-enabled pre-paid SIM cards will cost up to BHD2 (USD5.3), while the -paid handset bundles come with up to 200MB of inclusive data usage per month. An offer of 24% more credit with the recharge of the SIM has also been announced by the company.
Till date, an investment of USD200 million has been made by STC in Bahrain and a further investment of ‘several hundred million’ dollars is expected in the next few years.
According to Viva Bahrain CEO Abdulrahman Al Omar, the company plan to compete in the Bahraini market by providing innovative services that meet the needs of the market and enrich the level of services, whether voice or data transmission or even high speed broadband.
