Law No. 7 of 2003 provides a framework for effective protection of trade secrets.

There is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Bahrain to deliver telecom services to end users. Moreover, passive infrastructure sharing is practised in the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

Batelco, the former incumbent telecom operator, underwent a structural separation in 2019 into a wholesale infrastructure unit (BNET) and a retail operator (Batelco). The process for completing the full internal systems and organisational separation is underway, according to Resolution No. 17, Promulgating the Fifth National Telecommunications Plan. The Fifth Telecommunications Plan adopted in 2020 provides that BNET will become the sole fibre network infrastructure company over time. Batelco is partly owned by the government. As reported in 2020, Mumtalakat Holding Company and Social Insurance Organisation, both of which are associated with the Bahraini government, own more than 55% of the shares.

While it is reported that Bahrain has established accounting separation by law for operators with significant market power, functional separation for operators with significant market power is not required by law. Nevertheless, Resolution No. 17, Promulgating the Fifth National Telecommunications Plan, shows that the government is finalising the implementation of the structural separation of Batelco (the former incumbent) into a wholesale infrastructure unit (BNET) and a retail operator (Batelco).

Art. 26 of the Legislative Decree No. 48 of 2002 provides that a licensee must be incorporated in Bahrain or have a registered branch office in Bahrain. In addition, it provides that, subject to certain exceptions, substantially all of the infrastructure and personnel associated with the provision of the telecommunications service must be located within Bahrain.

Bahrain has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

It is reported that the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

Bahrain is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). However, the country has been an observer of the WTO GPA since 2008.

Bahrain is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 but is not a signatory of its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

The Legislative Decree No. 36 of 2002 establishes a public procurement regime in Bahrain. The Decree distinguishes between local tenders and international tenders. Local tenders are limited to suppliers or contractors authorised to conduct business activities in the Kingdom of Bahrain according to the applicable laws and regulations. International tenders are open to both local suppliers and contractors, and international suppliers and contractors who are unregistered in the Kingdom may participate. According to Art. 19 of the Decree, the criteria for the distinction between local and international tenders shall be based on the nature of goods, constructions or services required to be purchased, the volume thereof, the extent of their complexity and the standards required. The Board shall be empowered to determine the reasons for the selection of an international tender based on such criteria.

The Cabinet’s Resolutions No. 2416-06 of 2017 allocates a 20% share of the value of government procurements and tenders to SMEs and grants them a 10% preference in the biddings of service facilities for all public tenders, except for those of a special nature. The classification criteria through the size of the enterprises, which are available in the SMEs Registration System, exclude a branch of a foreign company from the SMEs classification. The SMEs Registration System is a window launched under the Resolution to enable SMEs to apply for classification certificates according to their size.

It is reported that price preferences are given in public procurement to goods produced in Bahrain and in other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member States, provided that the prices of these goods are within specified margins of the value of their imported equivalents. These are 10% for goods produced in Bahrain and 5% for goods produced in the GCC.

The general standard-setting process in Australia is collaborative and transparent. It includes a wide range of stakeholders (international, private/public sector) and the treatment of intellectual property (IP) issues. For example, the Technical Committee, which is responsible for developing new standards, includes representatives from government agencies, businesses, and industry organisations and associations. However, the process does not seem transparent when it comes to electrical products.
To regulate electrical products, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMC) derive technical standards from the Standards Alliance, a non-government and not-for-profit standards organisation, if not from international standard bodies or national regulatory agencies. In developing standards, the Standards Alliance forms technical committees consisting of technical, business, academic, government, and community experts as representatives from nominating organisations. According to the Structure and Operation of Standardisation Committees (SG-002) and Nominating organisation Guide, to be eligible as a nominating organisation, it must have its headquarters based in Australia, have an Australian membership base, and represent a constituency, among other requirements. SG-002 was published in 2001 and recently amended in September 2020.

To ensure compliance with the technical regulatory arrangements, suppliers must make and hold a Declaration of Conformity. The document should be signed by the Australian supplier or overseas manufacturer to certify that the product meets applicable standards. It must be signed by a person who holds a senior position in the company or organisation. The signatory should have sighted the evidence that supports the declaration and be satisfied with the grounds for compliance. It should be made available by the supplier for audit purposes on request, in writing, from either the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) or the Radio Spectrum Management Group (RSM) of the New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development Electrical products become subject to testing requirements when exported.
The Telecommunications Act of 1997 regulates telecommunications equipment. The Radiocommunications Act 1992 regulates radiocommunications equipment, electrical or electronic household products, and radio transmitters. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMC) allows a self-declaration of conformity (SDoC) as long as the declaration contains all of the information in Australia's Declaration of Conformity (Form C02) and acknowledges that the product complies with the ACMC standards. Whoever signs the SDoC must see the evidence that the product complies with the rules and agree that the records show that the product complies with the rules. A supplier may be required to submit a separate test report from a designated testing body as well.