“As of February 2007, data, images, voice mail and internet networks are being communicated through the newly installed fibre-optic network that connects Ethiopia to the international system through neighbouring Sudan,” he told Reuters.
Business leaders say the high cost of telecommunications in Africa is an impediment to investment in the world’s poorest continent, where Internet traffic often travels over creaking satellite connections.
Abdurahim said because the Horn of Africa country was landlocked, it had to depend on the goodwill of neighbour Sudan for international connectivity.
The network stretches over 983 kms (610 miles) on Ethiopian territory and merges with Sudan’s Sudatel at the border town of Gedarif.
ETC currently provides 900,000 landlines and has 1.1 million mobile lines. Abdurahim said the potential for expansion in the country of 75 million was unlimited.
Ethiopia has been connected to the international telecommunication network since 1987 through a satellite earth station in Sululta some 30 kms north of Addis Ababa.
The station does not have the capacity to handle the growing volume of information communication flows, Abdurahim said.
