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

NEOPAY Wants To Follow Merchants Across Channels And Borders

A controlling 65% stake in noon payments would give NEOPAY access to marketplace sellers, online merchants and the payment flows they generate.

Published

1 day ago

October 5, 2026

Nour Nasir

neopay wants to follow merchants across channels and borders

It’s been a long time since checkouts were single defined places. A merchant might take payments at a physical register, on its own website and through an online marketplace, sometimes in more than one country. NEOPAY wants to follow those transactions wherever they happen.

The UAE payments company has entered into an agreement to acquire a 65% controlling stake in noon payments. NEOPAY already runs the acquiring infrastructure that lets merchants accept card payments, along with omnichannel acceptance and a merchant services platform. This new deal would add noon payments’ embedded payments platform, e-commerce gateway and merchant network across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. That would considerably expand both NEOPAY’s digital commerce capabilities and its regional reach.

For merchants, the attraction is a single provider for online and in-store payments, plus faster settlements, data and analytics, and value-added financial services.

“Payments should be simple, reliable, and built for the markets they serve,” said Faraz Khalid, CEO of noon. His counterpart at NEOPAY, Vibhor Mundhada, added: “We have built a strong payments business in the UAE, and our ambition is now to take that capability across the region”. The acquisition, Mundhada added, would “expand our footprint into Saudi Arabia and Egypt” while reinforcing NEOPAY’s position at home.

Also Read: In Kuwait, Your Surgeon Might Be Operating From Another Country

NEOPAY is also keen to point out potential payment volume increases. The company says noon payments’ integrations with marketplace sellers and online merchants create high transaction density in some of the region’s fastest-growing digital commerce segments. It also believes control of the business would give it access to those merchant relationships and payment flows, and speed up the rollout of alternative payment methods and installment options.

The combined roadmap targets faster merchant onboarding, better payment performance, tighter fraud controls and embedded financial services. The deal could also strengthen cross-border payments and settlement along key regional commerce corridors.