Ethiopia was 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, in June 2019 the government approved legislation which will open the market to competition and provide much needed foreign investment. The process to part-privatise Ethio Telecom advanced in September 2019 when the company was audited, while two licenses are expected to be offered to two international operators by the end of the year.
Despite the stimulus from market competition, 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 initiated the construction of a $3 billion technology city.
Most of the technologies deployed thus far have been provided by ZTE and Huawei, which have often been preferred for offering vendor financing. In preparation for competition in the mobile market, Ethio Telecom has placed the expansion of LTE services as a cornerstone of its investment program to 2022.
After years of low uptake due to prohibitive pricing, Ethio Telecom reduced tariffs by up to 50% in 2018, resulting in a sharp increase in data and voice traffic. With retail prices now comparable to other more developed markets in the region, pricing will come under further pressure from 2020 as the two international new operators launch services. This should be a catalyst for steady growth in all sectors in coming years.
Key developments:
National Bank opens up Ethiopia to m-money services;
Ethio Telecom secures mobile network monitoring platform;
Safaricom shows interest in securing a mobile licence;
Government audits Ethio Telecom in preparation for privatisation, sets up a new telecom regulator;
Fibre cabling on the Addis Ababa and Djibouti rail route to be used for telecom services;
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;
Report update includes Telecom Maturity Indexes charts and analyses, Ethio Telecom data to September 2019, recent market developments.
