Ethio Telecom, now listed on the Ethiopian Securities Exchange, reported 162 billion birr in revenue for the 2017 Ethiopian fiscal year, achieving 99 percent of its annual performance target. The company also concluded its three-year strategic plan period with a total revenue of 331.5 billion birr, according to CEO Frehiwot Tamiru.
In a wide-ranging performance briefing, the company highlighted aggressive infrastructure expansion and growing device penetration across the country. The operator increased 4G network coverage from 37.5 percent to 70.8 percent within the fiscal year and added 1,683 new mobile sites, bringing the total number of network towers from 8,327 to 10,000. Device distribution surged, with over 800,000 units provided to customers and 19 million mobile handsets sold.
Ethio Telecom said it connected 512 cities with 4G and expanded advanced 4G services to 936 cities. It also introduced 5G services to 16 additional locations, bringing the total number of cities with 5G to 26. Over the three-year period, 871 cities were newly connected.
The company’s rural connectivity push brought service to 459 districts and 2,388 kebeles that previously lacked any telecom infrastructure, benefiting an estimated 5.9 million people. Equipment was deployed to 529 districts and 2,678 kebeles, reaching 6.5 million additional citizens. The company repaired 280 network sites, 1,151 mobile sites, and 1,886 fiber cuts caused by conflict or other disruptions.
As part of its shift from copper to fiber, Ethio Telecom migrated 24,123 customers in the past fiscal year. The company now plans to complete the transition in Addis Ababa within one year and in regional cities within five years. Currently, 4,305 of its sites have backup generators, and 21 percent rely on solar energy solutions.
In the digital services segment, the Zemen Market platform processed 7,000 orders and recorded 15 million birr in transactions within three months. The company also said its two electric vehicle charging stations handled 73,000 charges over the fiscal year.
Ethio Telecom’s network now supports 86.1 million connected devices, with 29.4 million using 4G LTE. The total subscriber base reached 83.2 million, while broadband internet users climbed to 847,100. The firm earned 193.1 million birr from international services.
As one of the largest companies listed on Ethiopia’s nascent stock exchange, Ethio Telecom’s performance reflects both its strategic position in the national economy and its ambitions in next-generation digital infrastructure.
Source: Tikvah Ethiopia
