Addis Ababa: June 11, 2015 (FBC) – CEO of Ethio Telecom Amdualem Admassie disclosed that the company has fulfilled 90% of the sector’s objective in the first phase of the Growth and Transformation Period (GTP).

The number of mobile phone subscribers in the country has reached 37 million, just three million subscribers short of the objective in the sector. The company aims to fill the gap within the remaining months by selling more subscriptions.

Network expansion projects to host millions of new subscribers have been completed, Andualem underscored. He added, tariffs for mobile phones and regular lines are the lowest in Ethiopia in comparison with other African particularly, East African, countries.

Regarding data internet customers, the sector outperformed its objective by 238% and caters for nine million subscribers. In addition to providing the service to more people, the company’s profits have also increased.

Access to phones in rural areas has been reduced to just five kilometers, 90% of Ethio Telecom’s plan in this sector. The program has provided access to 16,000 rural Kebeles to regular lines.

Andualem noted wireless phone provision has met its objectives.
However, over the years, problems of network disruption have been witnessed. The problem has been addressed in the capital Addis Ababa and other cities in the country. Some towns still experience the problem, the CEO admitted.

For the past three months, Ericson has been working to solve network disruption problems in Adama and other Southern towns. Similarly, ZTE is currently working to resolve the network problem in Ambo, Nekemte and environs. Both projects also include upgrading of existing networks into 3G and 4G services.
Preparations are well underway to reach some areas of the country, Andualem said.

The number of regular line subscribers has diminished from a million to 800,000. The company is working to boost customers of the service by reducing prices and has seen some positive results.

Source: Fana Broadcasting Corporate