News

Bahrain Becomes Among The First To Achieve Nationwide 5G Coverage

Published

5 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

Dirham-Backed Stablecoin DDSC Enters Live Phase In UAE

Central Bank approval moves the dirham-backed token into deployment, targeting regulated payments and settlement flows.

Published

4 days ago

February 13, 2026

Nour Nasir

dirham-backed stablecoin ddsc enters live phase in uae

The UAE has cleared the launch of DDSC, a dirham-backed stablecoin now entering live operation after approval from the Central Bank. The move pushes the project beyond its pilot phase and into the country’s regulated financial system.

The token is backed by a consortium led by IHC, Sirius International Holding and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), framing it as an institutional instrument rather than a consumer crypto product. DDSC was first announced in April 2025, but regulatory clearance now allows deployment and integration across approved channels.

DDSC runs on ADI Chain, a Layer 2 blockchain built by the Abu Dhabi-based ADI Foundation. The infrastructure is designed for governance and performance requirements expected by large institutions, linking blockchain settlement with existing compliance and oversight frameworks.

The focus is practical, targeting treasury settlements, high-value payments, trade and supply-chain transactions, and programmable financial flows for regulated entities. FAB plans to offer access to the token through approved platforms for its clients, keeping the rollout inside controlled banking environments.

“DDSC marks a defining milestone in the UAE’s digital finance journey,” said Syed Basar Shueb, CEO of IHC. “With the Central Bank’s approval and our transition into live operation, we are delivering trusted, institutional-grade infrastructure that strengthens resilience, accelerates innovation, and expands what is possible in regulated digital payments”.

Also Read: Basatne Debuts ORBT Platform For Digital Refunds In UAE

FAB says the project reflects how stablecoins can sit within traditional finance when risk controls are built in from the outset. “This milestone underscores that stablecoins can be integrated responsibly into the financial system when built to meet rigorous regulatory and risk requirements,” said Futoon Hamdan AlMazrouei, Group Head of Personal, Business, Wealth and Privileged Client Banking Group at FAB.

The launch reinforces the UAE’s strategy of pushing digital finance through regulation instead of open-ended crypto experimentation. Stablecoins in this model are positioned less as trading assets and more as programmable extensions of national currency, aimed at institutional scale and government use cases.