Ethio telecom has been a pioneer in telecom service providers within Africa. The company has introduced the latest technologies to help support socio-economic development of Ethiopia from its establishment to date, playing an enabling role in the overall development of the nation in all weathers.
As part of the commitment to realize the government’s digital transformation agenda, Ethio telecom has been expanding 3G and 4G networks throughout the nation. They have effectively achieved 97% of telecom services coverage, densified the network, and upgraded the earlier technologies to the latest ones. In addition to the network expansion, Ethio telecom has introduced a variety of products and services including digital services. Also, it has widened the service horizon by introducing a mobile financial service, TeleBirr.
In continuing efforts to enhance and modernize telecom services, today, the company is pleased to announce the launch of the pre-commercial 5G services in Addis Ababa in six mobile stations.
The fifth-generation network (5G) characterized by the fastest speed (up to 10 Gbs), low latency (less than 1 ms), and massive communication capability (up to 1 Million connections within 1 km2) can unlock blazing fast speeds in more places, have real-time responses, and uphold massive connectivity. With such high speeds; superior reliability; and negligible latency; 5G will impact industries such as mission-critical services requiring real-time decisions, manufacturing plants, remote health care, precision agriculture, self-driving vehicles, IoT, and real-time operations — making them all a reality.
As part of the pre-commercial trial service, Ethio telecom, has begun its service in the capital city, Addis Ababa, and will expand the footprint to regional cities, up to 150 sites over the next year, thus further rolling out 5G sites to more areas based on feasible business demands. However, the full commercialization of the service is dependent on the readiness and demand from the players in the ecosystem: customers’ readiness to use the service, availability of 5G enabled devices and smartphones, and the need and readiness of enterprises to use the service.
The company’s pre-commercial deployment of 5G service in Addis Ababa, the capital and the diplomatic seat of international and continental institutions, is in line with an aspiration to become a preferred operator as well as with the 3 years of growth strategy and technology roadmap. This 5G service will provide customers with the best-in-class solutions, improve their experience, and allow the enterprise customers to boost productivity, enhance operational efficiency, and introduce new solutions to their customers.