Ethiopia - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Ethiopian government announces major plans for ICT hub

Ethiopia 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 country's 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, undergoes major revision of mobile subscriber base;
Government confirms plans to privatise Ethio Telecom, agrees to a new telecom regulator;
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.

Table of Contents

Key statistics
Country overview
Telecommunications market

Market analysis
TMI vs GDP
Mobile and mobile broadband
Fixed and mobile broadband

Regulatory environment

Regulatory authority
Telecom service licences
Telecom sector liberalisation
Privatisation

Fixed network operator

Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
Leased lines, data services
VSAT
Orange Group management contract

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network
Rural area network
National backbone network
Next Generation Network (NGN)
Network development plan 2007-2012
Growth and development Plans I and II
International infrastructure
Smart infrastructure

Fixed-line broadband market

Introduction and statistical overview
Broadband statistics

Forecast – broadband subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023

Public internet access locations
Fixed-line broadband technologies

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks
Fixed wireless

Digital economy

E-government
E-learning

Mobile market

Market analysis
Mobile statistics

General statistics
Mobile data

Mobile broadband
Forecast – mobile subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023
Mobile operator

Ethio Mobile

Mobile infrastructure

Digital networks
Other infrastructure developments

Mobile content and applications

m-banking

Mobile handsets

Local handset manufacturing

Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities- Ethiopia – 2018 (e)
Table 2 – Ethio Telecom revenue – 2012 - 2019
Table 3 – Historic - Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 1995 - 2009
Table 4 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2010 – 2019
Table 5 – Growth development Plan I and II objectives – 2015; 2020
Table 6 – International internet bandwidth – 2002 – 2016
Table 7 – Historic - Internet users and penetration rate – 1996 – 2009
Table 8 – Internet users and penetration rate – 2010 – 2018
Table 9 – Proportion of households with internet access in Ethiopia – 2007 - 2018
Table 10 – Historic - Internet subscribers – 1997 - 2009
Table 11 – Broadband subscribers – 2003 – 2018
Table 12 – Forecast broadband subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023
Table 13 – Ethio Telecom DSL subscribers – 2011 – 2018
Table 14 – Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 1999 – 2009
Table 15 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2010 - 2019
Table 16 – SMS messages sent – 2010 – 2017
Table 17 – Active mobile broadband subscribers – 2009 – 2018
Table 18 – Forecast mobile subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Overall Africa view - Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per Capita – 2018
Chart 2 – East Africa - Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per Capita – 2018
Chart 4 – East Africa –Telecoms Maturity Index by country – 2018
Chart 5 – East Africa mobile subscriber penetration versus mobile broadband penetration – 2018
Chart 6 – East Africa fixed and mobile penetration rates – 2018
Chart 7 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2005 – 2019
Chart 8 – Internet users and penetration rate – 2005 – 2018
Chart 9 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2005 – 2019

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Generalised Market Characteristics by Market Segment

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Licence Information

Focus Report Profile

Technologies

Broadband Fixed
Companies (Major Players)
Internet
Mobile & Wireless Broadband and Media
Mobile Communications (voice and infrastructure)
Regulations & Government Policies
Strategies & Analyses (Industry & Markets)
Telecoms Infrastructure

Number of pages 67

Status Current

Last updated 18 Jun 2019
Update History

Lead Analyst: Henry Lancaster

Contributing Analysts:

Peter Lange

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