ETC raising network capacity, blocks VOIP Capital
Ethiopian Telecommunications
Corporation
16 September, 2008
The Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) has announced that mobile phone subscribers’ number will reach eight million by December 2008 including the two million SIM cards that were released in last August. Up until March 2008 there were only two million subscribers in the country.
The new system identification module (SIM) cards are to provide pre-paid services only.
According to details of the project ETC awarded the project to the Chinese telecom company Zhong Xing Telecommunication Equipment (ZTE). When completed in two years time, the number of mobile phone subscribers in the country will reach 15 million. The 1.5 billion dollar project is scheduled to be finalized in two years and includes executing various network activities in rural areas of the country.
Moreover, ETC has launched the first phase of fixed, wireless and mobile CDMA2000 network which is also installed by ZTE.
The first phase of the wireless telephone network expansion project with a capacity for 652,000 lines is completed. Most of the finance for this project is secured from the Chinese Development Bank.
It is recalled that, Junedi Sado, Minister of Transport and Communications, told journalists at a press briefing held on September 1, 2008 that the Corporation managed to block the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), a method that is employed to make illegal overseas calls cheaply.
“This is [done] to control illegal telephone service providers, but in the future the government plans to facilitate for these providers to become legal,” said Junedi.