After being one of the first countries in the MENA area to establish a FinTech regulatory sandbox, Bahrain, a Gulf state, has pushed for the implementation of a similar strategy for the telecoms sector.
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Bahrain has developed a new telecom innovation license that would grant holders speedier access to Bahrain’s radio spectrum and more latitude to perform live trials of emerging technologies.
In addition to enabling businesses to gauge the market acceptance of innovative goods, the regulatory sandbox in telecommunications will open up a vital channel for discussion between the private sector, organizations from throughout the telecoms industry, and the TRA.
According to Philip Marnick, general director of TRA, the new license would “promote businesses, academic institutions, and other stakeholders to test and trial innovative wireless technologies and services in Bahrain.” Innovation, according to the authority, “is the key to preserving leadership in the digital realm.”
so the U.K. launched the first FinTech regulatory sandbox in 2016, the notion of creating a setting where businesses may test out new ideas has gained favor across the world and is increasingly being applied outside the sphere of financial technology.
Other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations have started FinTech sandboxes in addition to Bahrain. While the Central Bank of Oman has put it to its list of things to do, central banks in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have all authorized experimental regulatory settings.
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) FinTech Lab, a regulatory sandbox for securities markets, was established in Saudi Arabia as a further expansion of the idea beyond the purview of the central bank’s rules.
