Ethiopia Telecoms Market Report
Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses
Last updated: 15 May 2025 Update History
Report Status: Current
Report Pages: 133
Lead Analyst: Henry Lancaster
Contributing Analyst: Peter Lange
Ethio Telecom to reissue unsold shares following its IPO
The slow process to open up Ethiopia’s telecom market was partly achieved with the licensing of the Safaricom-led Global Partnership for Ethiopia consortium. The country had been one of the last in Africa to allow its national telco a monopoly on all telecom services including fixed, mobile, internet and data communications. This had stifled innovation, restricted network expansion, and limited the scope of services on offer.
The prolonged attempts by the telecom regulator to issue a third renewable 15-year licence, thus promoting more effective competition against Ethio Telecom and Safari Ethiopia, has been mired with delays. A request for bids was issued in July 2023, and though there was some interest shown by international telcos no bids were made, possibly due to uncertainties regarding the ongoing conflict in the north of the country. As a result, in November 2023 the licensing process was again suspended.
In the mobile sector, Ethio Telecom has placed the expansion of LTE services as a cornerstone of its investment program, while it has also launched 5G services. By January 2025 5G was available in 12 of the major cities. 5G is considered central to the government’s Digital Ethiopia 2025 strategy, by which telecom services are to be extended deeper into rural areas. The government also has embarked on its Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda and Ten-Year National Development Plan (2021-2030). The consecutive five-year Growth and Transformation Plans have also guided the overall economic development of the country. In conjunction with these national schemes, there has also been a focus on widening the reach of the national backbone network, and providing additional international cross-border connectivity.
In a bid to develop digital inclusion, the World Bank in December 2023 issued a $350 million loan to support the national rollout of the biometrics-based Digital ID in the country, known as Fayda. The ID will potentially be issued to 90 million people by 2028, improving their access to services and economic opportunities. While securing a digital ID is voluntary, it is compulsory for people to access government services.
Key developments:
- Safaricom expands mobile network covering 50% of the population.
- Ethio Telecom extends 5G to 12 cities and launches a rural mobile service initiative.
- Telecom regulator sets fixed and mobile termination rates through to 2029.
- Ethio Telecom joins partnership to build the Horizon terrestrial fibre link connecting Ethiopia with Djibouti and Sudan.
- Ethio Telecom announces plan to re-issue shares unsold during its IPO concluded in January 2025.
- New Digital ID made compulsory to access government services.
- Raxio Group opens its Tier III data centre at the ICT Park in Addis Ababa.
- Government promotes Digital Ethiopia 2025 strategy in collaboration with the Internet Society.
- Report update includes updated Telecom Maturity Indexes charts and analyses, Ethio Telecom data updates to December 2024, Safaricom Ethiopia data to March 2025, recent market developments.
Companies mentioned in this report:
Ethio Telecom (formerly Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation, ETC), Safaricom, Vodafone, Vodacom, Kandu Global Telecommunications, Electromecha International EthioNet, Ethio Mobile, Orange Group, Tecno Telecom, Smadl, Tana Communication, Thuraya
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