Once you land in Bahrain or any country worldwide than to operate Mobile for communication, you have two options: either go for Roaming at your existing SIM card or buy a new SIM card from Bahrain. Three companies are operative right now in Bahrain;
- Batelco – بتلكو
- Zain – زين
- Viva – فيفا
Make sure to use a Bahraini SIM card; you need a CPR – Central Population Registration, where you have valid address proof and other personal details. This step is to make sure the security of people in Bahrain.
Read More: Mobile Networks in UAE
GSM network is operative here in Bahrain. Most mobile will work here, but you have to unlock it before making the Bahrain SIM card active.
Let see all networks one by one;
Batelco – Bahrain’s Telecommunications Company
Batelco is one of the leaders in telecom within the Kingdom of Bahrain and operative in the Middle East Africa Region. It was established in 1980and; hence it is a stamp of customer loyalty. It has no parallel here in Bahrain one it comes to wireless technology.
It is also very papular here with university students as it offers special packages as well as scholarships.
Packages by Batelco
There are several packages 0n prepaid and postpaid;
- SimSim turbo
- SimSim cash local weekly
- SimSim cash local monthly
- SimSim social local
You can visit here for more details on Prepaid “SimSim” Startup Packages
For more details, you can visit their website.
How to Check Remaining Balance?
You can both postpaid and prepaid bill details by simply dialling *888#
Transfer credit to any Sim from Postpaid?
Send from your mobile “T,” followed by BD’s amount and then followed by the SimSim number to 4554.
For example, to transfer BD10, SMS “T 10 39xxxxxx” to 4554
What is Batelco Helpline?
It is 196, fax 17885555 & emails on [email protected].
Zain Bahrain
Zain was launched in Bahrain in 2003 hence quite new than Batelco. Although Zain is operative in a few more countries but not limited to;
- Kuwait
- Iraq
- Jordan
- Saudi Arabia
- Sudan
- South Sudan
Packages by Zain
They claim that their 4G is the best in the kingdom of Bahrain. Also, they are competing with Batelco with a voice and data with a high range as Bahrain is not a big country; hence the coverage may not be the issue anywhere in there.
Zain data packages are quite cheaper than that of other competitors in Bahrain.
You can check zain packages here Zain Mobile Plans.
How to Check Remaining Balance?
You can both postpaid and prepaid bill details by simply dialling *142#
Transfer credit through Zain Bahrain?
Local – *140*Mobile Number*Amount to be transferred#
International – 121# or *121*Mobile Number#
What is Zain Bahrain Helpline?
Toll-free number is 00973-17108834 & Fax Number:- 97-336-031-994. the email is [email protected].
Viva Bahrain
VIVA Bahrain is owned subsidiary of the Saudi Telecommunications Company – STC. It was launched in March 2010. Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Bahrain – TRA gave license to the Viva as the third operator.
Packages by Viva
Viva is providing unlimited calls and data for free. Viva Bahrain is the latest operative here in Kingdom. They say they are going to launch 5G very soon. It has made a mark in Bahrain in no time.
Viva voice call & data packages are quite cheaper than that of other competitors in Bahrain.
You can check viva packages here, Viva Mobile Plans.
How to Check Remaining Balance?
To check your data balance For Postpaid, dial *98888# For Prepaid, dial *101#.”
Transfer credit through Viva Bahrain?
To transfer credit from your line to another VIVA line, you can use one of the following methods:
- Enter a USSD command: *121*amount* receiver_number#
- Send a SMS to 81121 with the following content: T <amount><receiver_number>
- Access the SIM ToolKit menu and follow the instructions for credit transfer
What is Viva Bahrain Helpline?
A toll-free number is 128 or 34128128 & the email is [email protected].
Wrap Up
To me, Viva is the best one as it’s new and emerging, and hence you can get maximum out of it. Please tell me what network you are using and what you think is the best one—comment below, and waiting for your input. By the way, you can recharge all networks by Bahrain E-key Account.
FAQ’s
How to get a landline installed in Bahrain?
Yes, you can get a landline, and the main service provider is Batelco – Bahrain’s Telecommunications Company. Other competitors are;
- Zain
- Menatelecom
- 2 Connect Bahrain
- Lightspeed