Ethiopian government announces major plans for ICT hubEthiopia is one of the last countries in Africa to allow its national telco a monopoly on all telecom services including fixed, mobile, internet and data communications. For many years Ethio Telecom’s monopolistic control stifled innovation, restricted network expansion and limited the scope of services on offer. However, a management contract with Orange Group dramatically improved the company’s performance, though there remain weaknesses in quality of service. The contract was considered a first step towards sector privatisation and the introduction of competition, and though the government for many years rejected calls to progress along these lines, citing the need for higher profits from the company to subsidise unrelated projects, a shift emerged in mid-2018 with plans to sell a stake in the telco as part of a wider economic reform.
There has been considerable investment in telecoms services, infrastructure and service expansion projects in recent years. Ethio Telecom has secured a network monitoring platform to help it improve services and has also revised plans to launch a telecom satellite, while the government has proposed building a $3 billion technology city. However, the sector remains heavily regulated and the government has complete control over networks, with virtually unlimited access to the call records of all phone users and to logs of internet traffic. Most of the technologies deployed have been provided by ZTE and Huawei, which have often been preferred for offering vendor financing.
Despite major vendor contracts aimed at improving the reach and capabilities of mobile networks, the country’s mobile penetration remains among the lowest in Africa. Nevertheless, growth is strong and considerable growth potential remains. Policies have been guided by the government’s Growth and Transformation Plan.
The countrys broadband market is also set to develop further following substantial increases in international bandwidth, improvements in national fibre backbone infrastructure and the growing availability of mobile broadband services via 3G and LTE networks. After years of low uptake due to prohibitive pricing, retail prices are now comparable to other more developed markets in the region.
Key developments:
Ethio Telecom secures mobile network monitoring platform, announces plans to secure its own telecoms satellite;
Viettel considering business case for entering Ethiopia’s telecoms sector;
Safaricom considers licensing M-Pesa mobile money platform in Ethiopia;
Ethio Telecom partners with Gulf2Africa cable construction;
Government launches mobile apps as part of the e-Government Directorate, announces plan for $3 billion technology city;
Major changes anticipated in the second Growth and Development Plan to 2020;
Cloned mobile phones disconnected from Ethio Telecom’s network;
Huawei and ZTE share a $1.6 billion contract to develop mobile infrastructure.Companies mentioned in this report:Ethio Telecom (formerly Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation, ETC), EthioNet, Ethio Mobile, Orange Group, Tecno Telecom, Smadl, Tana Communication, Thuraya.
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1. Key statistics
2. Country overview
3. Telecommunications market
3.1 Market analysis
4. Regulatory environment
4.1 Regulatory authority
4.2 Telecom service licences
4.3 Telecom sector liberalisation
4.4 Privatisation
5. Fixed network operator
5.1.1 Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
5.1.2 Leased lines, data services
5.1.3 VSAT
5.1.4 Orange Group management contract
6. Telecommunications infrastructure
6.1 Overview of the national telecom network
6.2 Rural area network
6.3 National backbone network
6.4 Next Generation Network (NGN)
6.5 Network development plan 2007-2012
6.6 Growth and development Plans I and II
6.7 International infrastructure
7. Smart infrastructure
8. Fixed-line broadband market
8.1 Introduction and statistical overview
8.2 Broadband statistics
8.2.1 Forecast – broadband subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023
8.3 Public internet access locations
8.4 Fixed-line broadband technologies
8.4.1 Fixed wireless
9. Digital economy
9.1 E-government
9.2 E-learning
10. Mobile market
10.1 Market analysis
10.2 Mobile statistics
10.2.1 General statistics
10.2.2 Mobile data
10.3 Mobile broadband
10.4 Forecast – mobile subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023
10.5 Mobile operator
10.5.1 Ethio Mobile
10.6 Mobile infrastructure
10.6.1 Digital networks
10.6.2 Other infrastructure developments
10.7 Mobile content and applications
10.7.1 m-banking
10.8 Mobile handsets
10.8.1 Local handset manufacturing
11. Related reportsList of Tables
Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities- Ethiopia – 2018 (e)
Table 2 – Historic - Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 1995 - 2009
Table 3 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2010 - 2019
Table 4 – Growth development Plan I and II objectives – 2015; 2020
Table 5 – International internet bandwidth – 2002 - 2016
Table 6 – Historic - Internet users and penetration rate – 1996 - 2009
Table 7 – Internet users and penetration rate – 2010 - 2018
Table 8 – Proportion of households with internet access in Ethiopia – 2007 - 2018
Table 9 – Historic - Internet subscribers – 1997 - 2009
Table 10 – Broadband subscribers – 2003 - 2018
Table 11 – Forecast broadband subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023
Table 12 – Ethio Telecom DSL subscribers – 2011 - 2018
Table 13 – Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 1999 - 2009
Table 14 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2010 - 2019
Table 15 – SMS messages sent – 2010 - 2017
Table 16 – Active mobile broadband subscribers – 2009 - 2018
Table 17 – Forecast mobile subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023List of Charts
Chart 1 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2005 – 2019
Chart 2 – Internet users and penetration rate – 2005 – 2018
Chart 3 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2005 - 2019
