PUBLISHER: BuddeComm | PRODUCT CODE: 1040146
PUBLISHER: BuddeComm | PRODUCT CODE: 1040146
Ethiopia - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses
Ethiopia licences consortium to liberate the telecom sector
The slow process to open up Ethiopia's telecom market was completed with the licensing of the Safaricom-led Global Partnership for Ethiopia consortium. The country had been one of the last in Africa to allow its national telco a monopoly on all telecom services including fixed, mobile, internet and data communications. This has stifled innovation, restricted network expansion, and limited the scope of services on offer. The consortium was in some respects a proxy for the wider influence over Ethiopia's telecom sector between the interests of the US and China.
Only one of the two licenses on offer was secured, with uncertainty as to the timetable for issuing the second licence. In the meantime, the government in mid-2021 began the process of selling a 45% stake in the incumbent telco Ethio Telecom.
These developments have attracted considerable investment in the sector. In addition, the World Bank in early 2021 provided a $200 million loan to help develop the country's digital transformation, while the government has embarked on its 2020-2030 program as well as its Digital Ethiopia 2025 strategy, both aimed at making better use of digital technologies to promote socio-economic development.
The country's mobile platform has mostly been provided by ZTE and Huawei, which have offered vendor financing. Ethio Telecom has placed the expansion of LTE services as a cornerstone of its investment program to 2022. The new licensee has been barred from contracting Chinese vendors, thus opening the door to western vendors.
BuddeComm notes that the outbreak of the Coronavirus continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally. During the coming year, the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure.
Overall progress towards 5G may be postponed or slowed down in some countries.
On the consumer side, spending on telecoms services and devices is under pressure from the financial effect of large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes. However, the crucial nature of telecom services, both for general communication as well as a tool for home-working, will offset such pressures. In many markets the net effect should be a steady though reduced increased in subscriber growth.
Although it is challenging to predict and interpret the long-term impacts of the crisis as it develops, these have been acknowledged in the industry forecasts contained in this report.
The report also covers the responses of the telecom operators as well as government agencies and regulators as they react to the crisis to ensure that citizens can continue to make optimum use of telecom services. This can be reflected in subsidy schemes and the promotion of tele-health and tele-education, among other solutions.
Key developments:
- Government awards Safaricom-led consortium a telecom licence;
- Ethiopia launches its second observation satellite, secures $200 million from the World Bank to support digital transition;
- Ethio Telecom launches its TeleBirr m-wallet solution;
- Government promotes Digital Ethiopia 2025 strategy in collaboration with the Internet Society;
- Tendering process to sell a 40% stake in Ethio Telecom begins;
- Government launches mobile apps as part of the e-Government Directorate, announces plan for $3 billion technology city;
- Report update includes Telecom Maturity Indexes charts and analyses, Ethio Telecom data to June 2021, assessment of the global impact of Covid-19 on the telecoms sector, recent market developments.
Companies mentioned in this report:
Ethio Telecom (formerly Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation, ETC), Safaricom, Vodafone, Vodacom, Kandu Global Telecommunications, Electromecha International EthioNet, Ethio Mobile, Orange Group, Tecno Telecom, Smadl, Tana Communication, Thuraya.
Table of Contents
Key statistics
Regional Africa Market Comparison
- Market characteristics
- Market Leaders
- Market Challengers
- Market Emergents
- TMI vs GDP
- Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
- Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration
Country overview
Covid-19 and its impact on the telecom sector
- Economic considerations and responses
- Subscribers
- Infrastructure
Telecommunications market
- Market analysis
Regulatory environment
- Regulatory authority
- Telecom service licences
- Telecom sector liberalisation
- Privatisation
Mobile market
- Market analysis
- Mobile statistics
- Mobile operator
- Ethio Mobile
- Mobile infrastructure
- 4G (LTE)
- 3G
- Mobile data
- Mobile broadband
- Other infrastructure developments
- Mobile content and applications
- m-banking
- Mobile handsets
Fixed-line broadband market
- Introduction and statistical overview
- Broadband statistics
- Public internet access locations
- Fixed-line broadband technologies
- Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks
- Fixed wireless
Fixed network operators
- Ethio Telecom
- Safaricom
- Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
- Leased lines, data services
- VSAT
- Orange Group management contract
Telecommunications infrastructure
- Overview of the national telecom network
- Rural area network
- National backbone network
- Next Generation Network (NGN)
- Network development plan 2007-2012
- Network development plan 2020-2023
- Growth and development Plans I and II
- International infrastructure
- Satellite
- Smart infrastructure
- Data centres
Digital economy
- E-government
- E-learning
Appendix - Historic data
Glossary of abbreviations
Related reports
List of Tables
- Table 1 - Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities- Ethiopia - 2021 (e)
- Table 2 - Growth in the number of mobile subscribers, and penetration - 2011 - 2026
- Table 3 - Growth in SMS traffic - 2011 - 2021
- Table 4 - Growth in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers, and penetration - 2011 - 2026
- Table 5 - Growth in the proportion of households with internet access - 2010 - 2021
- Table 6 - Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration - 2011 - 2026
- Table 7 - Growth in the number of Ethio Telecom's DSL subscribers - 2011 - 2021
- Table 8 - Growth in Ethio Telecom's revenue - 2012 - 2021
- Table 9 - Growth in the number of fixed lines and teledensity - 2011 - 2026
- Table 10 - Growth development Plan I and II objectives - 2015; 2020
- Table 11 - International internet bandwidth - 2011 - 2017
- Table 12 - Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration rate - 1999 - 2010
- Table 13 - Historic - Internet users and penetration rate - 1996 - 2015
- Table 14 - Historic - Fixed internet subscribers - 1997 - 2009
- Table 15 - Historic - Broadband subscribers - 2003 - 2010
- Table 16 - Historic - Fixed lines in service and teledensity - 1995 - 2010
- Table 17 - Historic - International internet bandwidth - 2002 - 2010
List of Charts
- Chart 1 - Africa Telecoms Maturity Index - Market Leaders
- Chart 2 - Africa - Market Leaders global ranking
- Chart 3 - Africa Telecoms Maturity Index - Market Challengers
- Chart 4 - Africa - Market Challengers global ranking
- Chart 5 - Africa Telecoms Maturity Index - Market Emergents
- Chart 6 - Africa - Market Emergents global ranking
- Chart 7 - Africa - Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per capita
- Chart 8 - Africa - Mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
- Chart 9 - Africa - Fixed and mobile broadband penetration
- Chart 10 - Growth in the number of mobile subscribers, and penetration - 2011 - 2026
- Chart 11 - Growth in SMS traffic - 2011 - 2021
- Chart 12 - Growth in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers, and penetration - 2011 - 2026
- Chart 13 - Growth in the proportion of households with internet access - 2010 - 2021
- Chart 14 - Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration - 2013 - 2026
- Chart 15 - Growth in the number of Ethio Telecom's DSL subscribers - 2011 - 2021
- Chart 16 - Growth in Ethio Telecom's revenue - 2012 - 2021
- Chart 17 - Growth in the number of fixed lines and teledensity - 2011 - 2026
- Chart 18 - International internet bandwidth - 2011 - 2017
List of Exhibits
- Exhibit 1 - Map of Telecom Maturity Index global ranking among countries in Africa
- Exhibit 2 - Generalised Market Characteristics by Market Segment
- Exhibit 3 - Africa - Market Leaders and market developments
- Exhibit 4 - Africa - Market Challengers and market developments
- Exhibit 5 - Africa - Market Emergents and market developments
