Ethio Telecom has reduced tariffs across zones for calls made from landlines in Ethiopia as of the 1st of January. Rates were reduced by 66.3% to 83 cents per minute during peak hours and to 0.35 cents at off peak hours, a 228% reduction. 
The move is targeted to encourage an increase in the number of subscribers to landlines in the face of falling revenue and low numbers of new subscribers for fixed line services.
It is expected that the new lower rates will allow subscribers to use the service more increasing the revenue earned by the corporation said Abdurahim Ahmed, Public Communications Head at Ethio Telecom.The reduction in rates is part of a new business plan by the telecommunications provider that also avoids price variations for in-town calls and out-of-town calls according to Abdurahim.
The number of subscribers to landline services in Ethiopia has been slow to grow compared to subscribers to mobile services increasing by only 37pc since 2005. The number of subscribers reached 836,000 last year after a century of fixed line services offered in the country. In comparison mobile service subscriptions reached 10.5 million in 2011 which is a 931% growth from just six years ago.
Source: Addis Fortune
