News

Bahrain Becomes Among The First To Achieve Nationwide 5G Coverage

Published

6 years ago

February 6, 2021

bahrain becomes among the first to achieve nationwide 5g coverage

Associated Press

Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications recently reported that the island nation had become one of the first countries in the world to accomplish nationwide 5G coverage. Two of its three mobile operators now provide high-speed internet service to all of the nation’s 1.5 million population.

The Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications expects the nationwide 5G coverage to generate new opportunities for streaming, gaming, and supply chain technologies.

“Rapid access to information is essential to innovation, particularly for next-generation services,” said Kamal bin Ahmed Mohamed, Bahrain’s Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications. “In this way, 5G is a crucial step in Bahrain’s ongoing transition from a net consumer to a net producer of technological innovation,” he added.

Thanks to its strategy of flexible regulation of the telecoms sector, Bahrain was able to attract 787 million BHD in investments (more than $2 billion) between 2009 and 2019, and the country’s ICT sector now accounts for nearly 3 percent of its entire GDP.

Now that the country has achieved nationwide 5G coverage, it will be more attractive in the eyes of technology companies interested in providing data-driven services in the region, helping it strengthen its position as a regional and global ICT leader.

Full nationwide 5G coverage is in line with Bahrain’s comprehensive economic vision, described in a document entitled The Economic Vision 2030. The document highlights, among other things, the importance of technology for ensuring the sustainability of a vibrant private sector and attractive innovators and entrepreneurs from around the globe.

Also Read: Thales Deploys Its Security Solution At Bahrain International Airport

Last year, Bahrain became home to the region’s first hyper-scale data center after the launch of the AWS Middle East Region by Amazon. Considering that there will be over 1 billion 5G connections by 2023, the Gulf kingdom is in an excellent position to meet its digital transformation goals.

News

Abu Dhabi’s Robot Kitchen Is Serving Up Biryani, Not Burgers

Circus SE wants to put a tiny automated factory inside the buildings where Gulf residents live and work, bypassing part of last-mile delivery.

Published

6 days ago

October 20, 2026

Nour Nasir

abu dhabi's robot kitchen is serving up biryani not burgers

Circus SE

The most telling thing about a new autonomous kitchen now running in Abu Dhabi’s Marina Square is what it won’t cook:

“We don’t do fast food,” says Nikolas Bullwinkel, Founder and CEO of Circus SE. “We’ve actively decided not to build a machine that can only do burgers”.

Instead, the CA-1 system is built around pot-based cooking: curries, pastas, soups and rice dishes. After experimenting with highly personalized recipes, Circus deliberately leaned back toward recognizable food. “We’re going with a chicken biryani because you know it,” Bullwinkel says of the AED 40 dish.

circus se ca-1 robot system

The Germany-based robotics and food technology company operates across eight countries, and Abu Dhabi is its first deployment outside Europe. More locations are expected there and in Dubai.

In Germany, its units can be placed in supermarkets, gas stations, airports and hospitals. In the Gulf, Bullwinkel wants them inside residential and office buildings, replacing some of the complexity of last-mile delivery. “We’re basically bringing a very tiny factory a few square meters into your building,” he says. Catering company Royal Prestige supplies the ingredients and knowledge of local tastes.

The CA-1 manages up to 36 refrigerated ingredient silos alongside automated induction cooking, robotic plating and a self-cleaning dishwasher. Two robotic arms move ingredients through the system with minimal human intervention. It can produce up to 120 hot meals an hour, and a meal such as rice and curry can take around three to four minutes.

Also Read: Ooredoo Qatar’s 5G+ Network Is Built For Machines As Much As People

Five cameras and multiple sensors monitor heat, temperature and consistency, an attempt to approximate what a chef perceives. “You can hear something gets burned, you can smell it, you can see it at some point,” Bullwinkel says. CircusOS, the company’s operating system, adjusts recipes in real time.

You might think of the platform as a threat to kitchen staff, but Bullwinkel frames Circus as a way for chefs to develop recipes and distribute them at scale. With that being said, rising labor costs and shortages are also part of his case for automation.