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Ethio Telecom signs USD 800 mln expansion deal with ZTE
2013-08-19 13:00:00| Telecompaper Headlines
(Telecompaper) Ethio Telecom has signed an USD 800 million agreement with China's ZTE to expand its telecommunications network, AFP reports. CEO Andualem Admassie told journalists that the expansion project was vital to attain Ethio Telecom's objective of increasing coverage across the country and to upgrade its existing. The agreement is part of a USD 1.6 billion expansion project shared with China's Huawei. The two equipment vendors have split the cost of the scheme. The expansion project aims to increase mobile phone and 3G Internet access throughout the country and to introduce 4G broadband Internet in the capital Addis Ababa. Ethio Telecom, the country's monopoly phone and internet provider, aims to increase mobile coverage to 80 percent of Ethiopia. Andualem said the expansion is part of Ethiopia's "growth and transformation plan," an economic blueprint that aims to help Ethiopia reach middle-income status by 2025. Less than one percent of Ethiopia's 85 million people have access to the mobile internet and 23 percent subscribe to mobile phones, according to the ITU.
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Category:Telecommunications