Ethio Telecom, the fully state owned sole telecom service provider in Ethiopia, said it is planning to increase the number of its mobile phone subscribers to 49.7 million by next year.
Currently Ethio Telecom has a total of 44.5 million mobile phone subscribers, according to Firehiwot Tamiru, CEO of Ethio Telecom, who briefed reporters in her office on Wednesday. The company aims to increase the total number of its subscribers including mobile, landline and internet to 52.1 million by next year by increasing its total number of subscribers by 13 percent, according to Firehiwot.
She also indicated that the company also aims to increase the current 23.5 million mobile Internet users to 27.4 million by next year. After the government decided to end its monopoly in the telecom service sector, the process of selling partially (40 percent) of Ethio Telecom has been under way. In addition, two foreign telecom operators are also expected to join soon the over 100 million population of Ethiopian telecom market. During the Ethiopian budget year concluded July 7, 2020, Ethio Telecom has announced 47.7 billion birr ($ 1.3 billion) annual revenue.