Editing Telecommunications in Ethiopia

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'''Telecommunications in Ethiopia''' is a monopoly in the control of [[Ethio Telecom|Ethio telecom]], formerly the [[Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation]] (ETC). As of 2012, 20.524 million [[cellular phone]]s and 797,500 main line phones were in use.<ref name=factbook>[https://techvest.com.ng/].</ref>

==Overview==
The telephone system in Ethiopia consists of open [[wire]] and [[microwave]] [[radio]] relay systems adequate for government use. Domestic systems are open wire; microwave radio relay; radio communication in the [[high frequency]], [[very high frequency]], and [[ultra high frequency]]; two domestic [[satellites]] provide the national trunk service. International systems are open wire to [[Djibouti]] and [[Sudan]]; microwave radio relay to Djibouti and [[Kenya]]; and satellite earth stations are 3 [[Intelsat]] (1 [[Atlantic Ocean]] and 2 [[Indian Ocean]]).<ref name=factbook/>

The Ethiopian [[Dial Plan|dial plan]] changed on 17 September 2005. City codes (''i.e.'', internal prefixes) changed from two digits to three (or, from outside Ethiopia, one digit to two). Phone numbers changed from six digits to seven.

In 2007, there were 89 internet hosts.<ref name=factbook/> There were 447,300 internet users in 2009.<ref name="factbook"/> In 2010, just 0.75 percent of the population were using the Internet, one of the lowest rates in the world.<ref>"[http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics/material/excel/2010/IndividualsUsingInternet_00-10.xls Percentage of individuals using the Internet 2000-2010]". [[International Telecommunication Union]]. Retrieved 8 July 2012.</ref> The [[Domain name|internet domain]] in Ethiopia is [[.et]].

==History==
The first [[Telegraphy|telegraph]] line in Ethiopia was constructed in the years 1897–1899 between the cities of [[Harar]] and the capital [[Addis Ababa]]. This was extended in 1904 by a line that ran from Addis Ababa through [[Tigray Region|Tigray]] into [[Eritrea]] and to [[Massawa]]; and the next year by a line again from Addis Ababa to [[Gore, Ethiopia|Gore]] in the province of [[Illubabor Province|Illubabor]] and [[Jimma]] in [[Kaffa Province|Kaffa]].

The first telephones were brought by [[Ras Makonnen]] from Italy in 1890, and connected between the Palace and the Imperial treasury; the sound of disembodied voices frightened the local priests, who thought it was the work of [[demon]]s. The Emperor [[Menelik II]] responded to their protests with disdain, and later used the telephone to give orders to his [[Provinces of Ethiopia|provincial]] governors.<ref>Chris Proutky, ''Empress Taytu and Menelik II: Ethiopia 1883-1910'' (Trenton: The Red Sea Press, 1986), pp. 237ff.</ref> Emperor [[Haile Selassie]] had begun the process of introducing [[radio]] transmitters to the country for civilian and military use in the years before the [[Second Italo-Abyssinian War|Italian invasion]].<ref>Richard Pankhurst, ''Economic History of Ethiopia (1800 - 1935)'' (Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University Press, 1968), pp. 341, 606.</ref>

==Current status==
[[File:ET Mekele asv2018-01 img01 Selam Street.jpg|thumb|250px|Ethio Telecom building and [[Antenna (radio)|antenna mast]] in [[Mekelle]]]]
According to the ETC, the average rural inhabitant of Ethiopia has to walk 30 kilometers to the nearest phone. The ETC announced 7 September 2006 a program to improve national coverage, and reduce the average distance to 5 kilometers.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071007234937/http://www.waltainfo.com/EnNews/2006/Sep/07Sep06/17723.htm ETC to make 10,000 rural kebeles beneficiaries of telephone services] ([[Walta Information Center|Walta]])</ref>

Since 2008 [[CDMA2000]] and [[WCDMA]] is available in certain areas.

Since 26 September 2017 until end of 2018 it was not possible to buy and use Ethio telecom SIM cards in mobile devices that have not been purchased in Ethiopia or registered with the authorities.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ethiopia |title=UK FCO Advice re use of foreign phones in Ethiopia | access-date=10 October 2017}}</ref> Local advice suggests travellers should register their phone in the customs arrival hall at [[Addis Ababa Bole International Airport|Bole Airport]] on arrival if they intend to use a local SIM card. For travellers, local prepaid SIMs are available at small shops, Ethio telecom kiosks and hotels. [[Satellite phone]]s may require letter of permission from the ETC prior to bringing such phones through customs.

Use of [[voice over IP]] services such as [[Skype]] and [[Google Talk]] was prohibited by telecommunications legislation in 2002.<ref name=skype_legal/><ref>{{cite web |url= http://nazret.com/blog/index.php/2012/06/22/telecom-terror-and-digital-economy-in-ethiopia?blog=15 |title=Telecom, terror and digital economy in Ethiopia |first=Samuel M. |last=Gebru |date=22 June 2012 |work=Nazret.com |access-date=22 June 2012}}</ref> Personal use of these services was legalised by the Proclamation on Telecom Fraud Offences of 2012.<ref name=skype_legal>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.et/news/more.php?newsid=862 |title=Ethiopian Telecom law affirms Skype's legality |date=13 July 2012 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=15 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427030345/http://www.mfa.gov.et/news/more.php?newsid=862 |archive-date=27 April 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Since the changes and upgrade of equipment in the mid-2000 the telecommunication network is frequently out of work or overloaded, callers using both the landlines and mobile network are unable to connect, the situation is made worse by inclement weather. The ETC has not addressed this issue publicly nor admitted that the coverage and service is below par.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21584037-government-expands-mobile-phone-network-tightens-its-grip-out-reach|title=Out of reach|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=2018-08-13|language=en}}</ref>

Ethio telecom has launched the Fourth Generation (4G) Long-Term Evolution (LTE) service on 21 March 2015 in line with the help of the Chinese company HUAWEI.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/ethiopia-telecoms-idUSL6N0WN0BU20150321|title=Ethiopia launches 4G mobile service in the capital|author=Reuters Editorial|work=U.S.|access-date=2018-08-01|language=en-US}}</ref>

<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://zamcash.com.ng/easybuy-phones-and-prices-2023/|title=EasyBuy Phones and Prices 2023|access-date=2019-08-13|language=en}}</ref>

Ethio telecom Corporate Compunction Officer, Abdurahim Mohammed, stated that the rural telecom access within 5&nbsp;km radius service has currently reached 96 per cent. As part of the efforts to expand its service and improve network quality, Ethio telecom had built 725 stations in Addis Ababa alone during the past 20 years. Damages on fiber optic cables and power interruptions are among the challenges the service provider faced in its expansion and network quality improvement efforts.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.waltainfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18936:ethiopia-to-attain-rural-telecom-access-within-5-km-radius-of-service-target-&catid=52:national-news&Itemid=291| title = Home -| date = 19 November 2018}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Internet in Ethiopia]]
* [[Ethiopian Telecommunication Agency]]
* [[Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation]]
* [[Global Partnership for Ethiopia]]
*[[List of terrestrial fibre optic cable projects in Africa#Ethiopia|Terrestrial fibre optic cable projects in Ethiopia]]
* [[Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation|EBC]]
* [[Media in Ethiopia]]
* [[Communications in Ethiopia]]
* [[Telephone numbers in Ethiopia]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070319031639/http://www.panafril10n.org/wikidoc/pmwiki.php/PanAfrLoc/Ethiopia PanAfriL10n page on Ethiopia]
* [http://www.ethiopians.com/Engineering/Internet_ET.htm "The Internet in Ethiopia"] (2001 article)
* [http://www.mediaethiopia.com/Engineering/internet_in_ethiopia_revisited.htm "Internet in Ethiopia Revisited – A Mixed Bag of Progress and Opportunities on-Hold"] (2002 update of previous article)
* [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2005/aug/04/onlinesupplement "Ethiopia's digital dream"] (2005 Guardian UK article)

{{Economy of Ethiopia}}
{{Ethiopia topics}}
{{Africa topic|Telecommunications in}}
{{Telecommunications}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Telecommunications In Ethiopia}}
[[Category:Telecommunications in Ethiopia| ]]
[[Category:Communications in Ethiopia| ]]