Zain Bahrain’s Strategic 3G Sunset Boosts Network Speeds and Elevates Bahrain’s Global Connectivity Ranking

In a significant move towards technological advancement, Zain Bahrain strategically decided to sunset its 3G network last year. This move marked a milestone for Zain Bahrain and positioned the Kingdom among the top 10 countries globally in terms of improving Bahrain’s ranking on Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index.

Zain Bahrain has played a pivotal role in uplifting Bahrain’s telecommunications infrastructure to a world class standard. Having a more advanced infrastructure means a quicker transition of information between devices, resulting in a more agile speed of completion for business tasks. Additionally, increased bandwidth and lower latency will lower costs and boost business efficiencies.  

These faster speeds were crucial in lifting Bahrain’s ranking on the Speedtest Global Index into the top 10 countries worldwide for March and April 2023. Zain’s improved performance and coverage led to a higher Ookla® Consumer Sentiment Rating, based on customers’ five-star ratings at the end-of-test survey in Speedtest®. Ookla is a global leader in connectivity intelligence that provides consumers, businesses, and other organizations with data-driven insights to improve networks and connected experiences .

In terms of network performance, Zain saw over 60% improvement in median downlink throughput and over 30% improvement in median uplink throughput after the sunset was complete. 

We take great pride in delivering an excellent customer experience, which is why Ookla’s crowdsourced intelligence data was an important part of our 3G sunset strategy. It enabled us to see where customers were still using 3G and then improve 4G or 5G in those areas, ultimately providing a seamless transition and improved customer experience.

Amar Buali, Director, Network Access, IP & Cyber Security & Building Services, Zain Bahrain

Zain Bahrain’s 3G sunsetting has improved both 4G and 5G experience with superior network speeds, improving customer experience and network performance. It has also solidified Zain Bahrain’s position as a regional technology leader, supporting Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030 digital transformation ambitions in adapting innovative digital services across the Kingdom. With this transition, Bahrain is well-equipped to embrace future technological advancements and solidify its position as a regional technology leader.