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Article: Ethiopia stuck in telecoms stone-age.
- Article from:
- African Business
- Article date:
- January 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 IC Publications Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Ethiopia has only 150,000 telephone lines for a population of 56 million; and only 1,300 internet subscribers. In telecommunication terms, this is a disaster. Privatisation could be a solution but it seems the government is determined to retain control over information.
In 1897, the then ruler of Ethiopia, King Menelik, called up Ras Mekonnen, the father of the late Emperor Haile Selassie, from Addis Ababa to Harar -- 600 km apart -- for a chat on the telephone.
A sign of great things to come -- telecommunications wise -- one would think. But 100 years on, Ethiopia is home to only 150,000 telephone sets serving a population of 56m -- a low "teledensity" ...