Bahrain telco giant under fire

Bahrain's telecom watchdog has struck out against Batelco after it refused to provide rival operators with direct access to one of the country's largest sources of international bandwidth, reports Gulf Daily News.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) says a draft order had been issued, requiring Batelco to meet its obligations under a reference offer to provide the services necessary to allow other licensed operators direct access to the Flag International Landing station in Salmaniya.

TRA general director Alan Horne revealed that Batelco had so far failed to co-operate with the TRA in opening up access to the landing station to the detriment of Bahrain's citizens and economy.

The Obama administration has told lawmakers that legal approval of government surveillance methods scheduled to expire in December should be renewed, but leaving room to tweak the law to protect Americans' privacy, states The Washington Post.

The three provisions set to expire on 31 December this year, allow investigators to monitor through roving wiretaps suspects who may be trying to escape detection by switching cellphone numbers, obtain business records of national security targets, and track foreign powers or terrorist groups.

Their new bill, expected to be out this week, will seek to repeal the legal immunity granted to telecommunications companies included in last year's domestic surveillance legislation.

Egyptian fixed line incumbent Telecom Egypt (TE) is close to finalising a deal with Vodafone Egypt and Egyptian Company for Mobile Services related to the long-running dispute over interconnection fees, says TeleGeography.

Tarek Tantawy, TE's chief executive, says implementation of the new agreement should take place within weeks.

In mid-2008, TE filed a complaint with the Dispute Resolution Board of Egypt's National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority aimed at altering the rates for interconnection with mobile operators.