Telecommunications in Ethiopia is a monopoly in the control of Ethio telecom, formerly the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC). As of 2012, 20.524 million cellular phones and 797,500 main line phones were in use. [1]
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). [1]
The Ethiopian 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. [1] There were 447,300 internet users in 2009. [1] In 2010, just 0.75 percent of the population were using the Internet, one of the lowest rates in the world. [2] The internet domain in Ethiopia is .et.
The first 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 into Eritrea and to Massawa; and the next year by a line again from Addis Ababa to Gore in the province of Illubabor and Jimma in 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 demons. The Emperor Menelik II responded to their protests with disdain, and later used the telephone to give orders to his provincial governors. [3] Emperor Haile Selassie had begun the process of introducing radio transmitters to the country for civilian and military use in the years before the Italian invasion. [4]
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. [5]
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. [6] Local advice suggests travellers should register their phone in the customs arrival hall at 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 phones 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. [7] [8] Personal use of these services was legalised by the Proclamation on Telecom Fraud Offences of 2012. [7]
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. [9]
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. [10]
Ethio telecom Corporate Compunction Officer, Abdurahim Mohammed, stated that the rural telecom access within 5 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. [12]
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has generic name (help)Telecommunications in Dominica comprises telephone, radio, television and internet services. The primary regulatory authority is the National Telecommunication Regulatory Commission which regulates all related industries to comply with The Telecommunications Act 8 of 2000.
Nepal's telecommunication network has increased over the years significantly, with the number of telephone users reaching 40,789,198 as of 14 May 2019.
Telecommunications in Pakistan describes the overall environment for the mobile telecommunications, telephone, and Internet markets in Pakistan.
Telecommunications in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is under the control and supervision of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority which was established under UAE Federal Law by Decree No. 3 of 2003. From 1976 to 2006 the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) was the sole telephone and telecommunications provider for the UAE. And while there were exceptions for free zones and modern housing developments, for the majority of the UAE, Etisalat held a monopoly on business and personal telecommunications services. In February 2006, this monopoly became a duopoly when a new telephone company and Internet service provider (ISP), du, was established to offer mobile services across the UAE and Internet and TV services to some free zone areas. However, due to geographical distribution of service areas, the companies do not compete for customers and thus effectively operate as monopolies. Earlier du provided triple play services to free zone areas under the name Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), which is still its legal name.
Telecommunications in Azerbaijan provides information about television, radio, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet in Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijan economy has been markedly stronger recently and, not surprisingly, the country has been making progress in developing ICT sector. Nonetheless, it still faces problems. These include poor infrastructure and an immature telecom regulatory regime. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of Azerbaijan (MCIT), as well as being an operator through its role in Aztelekom, is both a policy-maker and regulator.
Haile Selassie I was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (Enderase) for Empress Zewditu from 1916 until 1930. Haile Selassie is widely considered a defining figure in modern Ethiopian history, and the major figure of Rastafari, a religious movement in Jamaica that emerged shortly after he became emperor in the 1930s. Before he rose to power he defeated Ras Gugsa Welle Bitul of Begemder at the Battle of Anchem in 1928. He was a member of the Solomonic dynasty, which claims to trace its lineage to Emperor Menelik I, a legendary figure believed by the claimants to be the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who they name as Makeda.
Addis Ababa is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. In the 2007 census, the city's population was estimated to be 2,739,551 inhabitants. Addis Ababa is a highly developed and important cultural, artistic, financial and administrative centre of Ethiopia.
Telecommunications in Armenia involves the availability and use of electronic devices and services, such as the telephone, television, radio or computer, for the purpose of communication. The various telecommunications systems found and used in Armenia includes radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the internet.
Nepal Doorsanchar Company Ltd., popularly known as Nepal Telecom or NTC, is a state-owned telecommunications service provider in Nepal with 91.49% of the government share. The company was a monopoly until 2003, when the first private sector operator, United Telecom Limited (UTL), started providing basic telephony services. The central office of Nepal Telecom is located at Bhadrakali Plaza, Kathmandu. It has branches, exchanges and other offices in 184 locations within the country.
Ethio telecom, previously known as the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation, is an Ethiopian telecommunication company serving as the major internet and telephone service provider. Ethio telecom is owned by the Ethiopian government and maintains a monopoly over all telecommunication services in Ethiopia. Based in Addis Ababa, it is one of the "Big-5" group of state owned corporations in Ethiopia, along with Ethiopian Airlines, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Insurance Corporation, and the Ethiopian Shipping Lines.
The Ethiopian Communications Authority is the part of the Ethiopian government which regulates the telecommunications and postal sectors of Ethiopia. Its primary objective is to promote the development of high quality, efficient, reliable and affordable communications services in Ethiopia. It is also accountable to the Prime Minister; its current Director General is Engineer Balcha Reba since 2019.
The mass media in Ethiopia consist of radio, television and the Internet, which remain under the control of the Ethiopian government, as well as private newspapers and magazines. Ten radio broadcast stations, eight AM and two shortwave, are licensed to operate in Ethiopia. The major radio broadcasting stations include Radio Fana a private station, Radio Voice of One Free Ethiopia, and the Voice of the Revolution of Tigray. The only terrestrial (broadcast) television networks are government owned and include EBC and other regional stations. In keeping with government policy, radio broadcasts occur in a variety of languages including Amharic, Afaan Oromo, Tigrigna, and more. There are also many video sharing websites which are a popular way of getting information as well as entertainment in Ethiopia.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to telecommunication:
The history of Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, formally begins with the founding of the city in the 19th century by Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II and his wife Empress Taytu Betul. In its first years the city was more like a military encampment than a town. The central focus was the emperor’s palace, which was surrounded by the dwellings of his troops and of his innumerable retainers. In the 1920s, Addis Ababa experienced a significant economic upturn, marked by a surge in the number of middle-class-owned buildings, including stone houses furnished with imported European furniture. The middle class also introduced newly manufactured automobiles and expanded banking institutions. Urbanization and modernization persisted during the Italian occupation, guided by a masterplan aimed at transforming Addis Ababa into a more "colonial" city, a trajectory that continued beyond the occupation. Subsequent master plans, formulated from the 1940s onward with the input of European consultants, focused on the development of monuments, civic structures, satellite cities, and the inner city.
In Ethiopia, the Internet penetration rate is 25% as of January 2022, and it is currently attempting a broad expansion of access throughout the country. These efforts have been hampered by the largely rural makeup of the Ethiopian population and the government's refusal to permit any privatization of the telecommunications market. Only 360,000 people had Internet access in 2008, a penetration rate of 0.4%. The state-owned Ethio Telecom is the sole Internet service provider (ISP) in the country. Ethio Telecom comes in at very high prices which makes it difficult for private users to purchase it.
Ethiopia is a landlocked sovereign country located in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, South Sudan to the south-west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the north-east. Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in the world and Africa's second-most populous nation. Ethiopia has yielded some of humanity's oldest traces, making the area important in the history of human evolution. Recent studies claim that the vicinity of present-day Addis Ababa was the point from which human beings migrated around the world. Ethiopian dynastic history traditionally began with the reign of Emperor Menelik I in 1000 BC. The roots of the Ethiopian state are similarly deep, dating with unbroken continuity to at least the Aksumite Empire and its predecessor state, D`mt. After a period of decentralized power in the 18th and early 19th centuries known as the Zemene Mesafint, the country was reunited in 1855 by Kassa Hailu, who became Emperor Tewodros II, beginning Ethiopia's modern history. Ethiopia's borders underwent significant territorial expansion to its modern borders for the rest of the century, especially by Emperor Menelik II and Ras Gobena, culminating in its victory over the Italians at the Battle of Adwa in 1896 with the military leadership of Ras Makonnen, and ensuring its sovereignty and freedom from colonization. It was occupied by Benito Mussolini's Fascist Italy from 1936 to 1941, ending with its liberation by British Empire and Ethiopian Patriot forces. Its eastern border also changed in 1950 from the former 1908 Convention Line to the subsequent provisional administrative line.
The following is a historical events of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, including its formation prior to 20th century by chronology.
Menelik Wossenachew was an Ethiopian singer who was known for his famous singles "Fikir Ayarejim", "Sukar Sukar" "Teyaqiyew Biaschegregn " and later "Gash Jembere".
Unity Park is an amusement park located in Arat Kilo district of Addis Ababa, in the compound of National Palace. Established in October 2019, it features a zoo and historical artifacts. Admission may be purchased by online services such as Ethio telecom or using Commercial Bank of Ethiopia or in person in the compound premises.
Radio in Ethiopia was introduced during Emperor Haile Selassie regime in 1933 where the first radio station was built in 1931. On 31 January 1935, with assistance of the Italian contractor firm Ansaldo, the largest and more powerful station was built and the Emperor delivered the first speech in the broadcast.