Ethio Telecom has recently been rolling out its 4G and 4G Advanced services to various parts of the country as part of its expansion and enhancement efforts. The lone telecom service provider Ethiopia has so far expanded 4G services to the South-South West region of Ethiopia and 4G Advanced services in cities like Adama, Bishoftu, Awash, and others.

As part of these efforts, Huawei has been working as a partner to better facilitate the expansion of Ethio Telecom’s services across the country. The Chinese company is currently the main contractor for the rollout of 4G related services. 

Huawei is also expected to play an integral role in Ethiopia’s 5G prospects. According to reports from The Ethiopian Herald, the country is expected to begin providing 5G services as early as 2022. 

Experts say that developments regarding 4G services and Huawei’s involvement in Ethiopia’s telecom sector signify positive prospects in terms of Ethiopia’s liberalisation of the sector. These developments show that perhaps there is a near end in sight for the sale of 50 percent of Ethio Telecom as well as the provision of two telecom licenses to foreign providers.

Recently, the Ethiopian Communications Authority has extended the deadline for the bidding process of the two licenses, citing a request from bidders for more time due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The process has been stalling for more than a year now with deadlines regularly being pushed forward for one reason or another.

A consortium led by Vodafone, that includes Safaricom and Vodacom, is one of the main prospects for the license with MTN from South Africa being another. Huawei itself might be a prospect given its collaboration with Ethio Telecom.

Regardless of whether Huawei enters the market on its own capacity, however, it has certainly been a key figure in Ethiopia especially considering the speed with which 4G services have been rolled out over the past month. The company’s CEO of Ethiopian Operations, Chen Mingliang, affirms his company’s role and has expressed delight at the success of the partnership so far. 

Capacity Media

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