Ethio Telecom announced it has managed to facilitate telecommunication access for over 16,000 Kebeles in Ethiopia out of the total 18,000 Kebeles.

The Company Communication Head, Abdurahim Ahmed, said some 10 years ago the company was only able to provide very limited telephone lines and services across the country which made it impossible for people living in rural areas get a simple telephone line in their village.

According to Walta Information Center (WIC), rural communities used to get telecommunication service after traveling up to 30 Kilometers. Yet, Abdurahim, said now these people will get the service within a maximum of 5 Kilometers distance.

The Communication Head attributes the current achievement to the government’s wishes and technology advantages. He further noted, by the end of 2015 the telecom monopole plans to render its service to all kebeles in the nation. 

In addition to this, Abdurahim stated the company has taken the nation’s Teledensity to 27 percent which was 0.23 percent 10 years ago. 

The total number of Ethio telecom customers which benefit from its different services has reached 27 Million. Nonetheless, the company plans to raise this number to 60 Million by the end of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) period.

Source: Walta Information Center