Ethio telecom is aggressively upgrading its service all over the country making it the most vibrant company in the country. Despite the process of privatization the sole telecom provider is advancing its service in different parts of the country.
This time the company yet again launched its 4G LTE Advanced service in its East Region on Tuesday May 25 and Central East Region on Thursday May 27. East 0Region includes Dire Dawa, Ayisha and Chiro towns while the Central East Region includes Harar, Aweday and Haremaya towns.
The expansion is based on where the company said that there is high mobile data traffic and surge in demand. “The service covers areas with a high demand for speedy internet,” said Frehiwot Tamiru, CEO of Ethio telecom during the launching ceremony.
LTE Advanced mobile service is one of the latest mobile technologies providing reliable connections enriching customers’ experience with exceptional speed to download or upload large-sized data, high-definition (HD) multimedia, live streaming and video conferencing in real-time.
The new expansion will enable and empower customers to digitize their services, increase productivity and improve their experiences.
Speaking about the expansion of the new project at the launching ceremony Frehiwot said, “It opens a new chapter and brings an immediate impact on congested areas of telecom service.”
Our massive 4G LTE expansion in the country including the one we made here today is also aimed at facilitating conditions for the mobile banking service including the newly-launched Telebirr. The internet service advancement in the area also contributes to modernizing economic activities and easing COVID-19’s business impact thereby helping the country’s move to digital economy, she remarked.
The project is one of ethio telecom’s three-year growth strategies, including data traffic growth, and demand-based 4G/LTE expansion around the country.
Ethio telecom’s internet penetration rate has also surpassed the overall sub-Saharan countries’ operators. The current mobile penetration in Ethiopia is over 51 percent while it is 45 percent in sub-Sahara Africa.
The reliability and high-speed features of the 4G LTE service will also increase productivity and improve experiences of the over 1.3 million ethio telecom customers in the region of which 330,000 have smart phones capable of operating the advanced service. The CEO
further stated that amongst the 244 ethio telecom stations in the East Region, 47 will run the advanced service which is 11 times faster than the existing connectivity.
Prior to this launch, ethio telecom has established a 4G network in its South East, North-West, East East, South South West regions within 2021, following the 4G launch in capital Addis Ababa one year earlier. The operator has also a vision to launch 5G by 2022 at pilot level.
