Currently, Batelco holds a monopolistic position in the telecommunication sector. It is the single Internet Service Provider in Bahrain and therefore controls the prices. Although the prices fall in the moderate range, the Internet is not accessible to all and has remained preserved to those who are rich and well educated. Internet first became accessible to the public in 1995, and Batelco has witnessed an increase in the subscription numbers since. The people in Bahrain continue to develop their Internet presence by using the Internet as a means of communication and information gathering.
Many companies now have their own webpages and access the Internet for business matters.
More commonly however, consumers use Internet to check their e-mail accounts and chat online. With the increase of Internet usage, more cyber cafes opened to serve the public. With time, as Internet got introduced to the people in Bahrain as well as the countries around the world, people started talking and exchanging ideas. The users within Bahrain itself got to know one another, making Bahrain seem smaller than it already was. By chatting with other people on the Internet, the world itself seemed smaller.