Bahraini telecom services operator Batelco has waived off the broadband bills of 500 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for a three month period. The move was designed to provide some relief to these businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and it has since been widely appreciated by the Kingdom’s business community.

The recipients of this special initiative were mostly businesses dealing in sectors worst affected by the pandemic.

Batelco carefully assessed its customer database based on a range of criteria to identify eligible companies. Once shortlisted, the eligible companies were informed about their bills being waived off.

The move is in continuation of Batelco’s ongoing efforts to help SMEs overcome the challenges thrown in by COVID-19.

“We are delighted with the success of our initiative in which we offered 500 SMEs in the business sector financial support towards their fixed internet costs for a period of 3 months. Launching this initiative reiterates Batelco's commitment to support SME customers to help them meet the challenges posed by the current circumstances,” said General Manager of Corporate Communications & CSR, Shaikh Bader Bin Rashid Al Khalifa.

He added that Batelco was “proud to have received so much positive feedback from those who benefitted and this encourages us to continue launching new and innovative corporate social responsibility initiatives.”