Mobile Phone Network in Bahrain

Hello all,

One question about mobile phones in Bahrain. I am moving to Bahrain soon and I will need to get a SIM only deal with one of Bahrain's mobile networks. I have an iPhone already so I don't want to sign up for a new contract that comes with a phone. I need a reliable coverage and plenty of data allowance on my iPhone. What are your recommendations and experiences with a mobile phone network in Bahrain? Which provider / package do you recommend?

Thank you very much in advance!

I bought a pay as you go go viva sim card but I am changing to a xain contract I also have an iPhone but I'm going to upgrade to iPhone 4s with a zain package as viva don't allow all texts to through from uk other than from vodaphone 3G and orange and all my family ad friends are O2 so it's no use to me.

viva don't allow all texts to through from uk other than from vodaphone 3G and orange and all my family ad friends are O2 so it's no use to me.


Good to know this - thanks for sharing this Hannahmack2012 ;)

@brightonguy - You could have a look at Batelco and Zain and see if theres any thing on the websites that can help. Otherwise pop in to one of the branches and speak to a person and tell them what you're after.

Hope this helps. :)

J :cool:

I'm going with zain however here is diff to uk if you do change ur mind and take out a contract here you pay months in advance which in a way has it's advantages too :)

I am using Batelco n very satisfied

Brightonguy moving to Bahrain???  :o

This is a historic post. What say, brightonguy??? :)

I've decided to go with VIVA and I am very happy about it. Never had a problem with UK calls not being accepted by VIVA to be honest. Data was very important to me and VIVA provides the best speed.

I know this thread is a bit old, but I just got my two Samsung Galaxy S4 4G-LTE phones from America here in Bahrain.  Back in the USA, Canada, and South/Central America I had high speeds on most carrier's 4G networks, but the best I can get is around 7-MB/second here in Bahrain.  One of the phones is with Viva and the other is with Batelco, both have the same issue and both are different American versions.
Can anyone shed some light on what/why this problem only occurs here (of course I've complained to the mobile provides, but they haven't been able to providers any answers).
Thanks,
Lex

Maybe the bands used for LTE (4G) in the USA are different than the ones used here in Bahrain. Have you checked that? Does your phone show 4G or LTE when you are connected to the Internet? I would also try one of your friends' phone purchased in Bahrain to see if its speeds are faster than the ones you achieve on your phone. Please note you should do speed tests number of times during the week and in different times of the day to understand your speed limits.