Ethio Telecom Signs Deals with Five VISP firms
ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia’s state-owned telecom firm has signed exclusive agreements with five private companies allowing them to provide fixed bandwidth internet service in the country.
The virtual internet service provider (vISP) agreements were signed between Ethio telecom’s CEO, Frehiwot Tamru, and respective representatives of the private companies on Monday.
The firms that have landed the exclusive contracts are WebSprix IT Solutions Plc, VIVATECH Trading Plc, Zergaw ISP, Skynet IT Solution Plc, and Dulle Business Group.
The three-year agreements would give the five firms exclusive right to purchase the fixed bandwidth (FBB) internet service from Ethio telecom, and provide internet service to users across the country.
The state-owned firm started dishing out vISPs agreements to local firms four years ago in a bid to meet the increasing demand for fixed broadband internet.
The company currently has 23.8 million subscribers of internet services in the country of over 110 million people.
About 443, 000 of them are Fixed Broadband subscribers. Its partners have contributed at least 20,700 to the total FBB customers.
With the support of the new partners, the telecom firm plans to increase Fixed Broadband customers to 3 million by the end of 2026.
“In addition to our company’s continuous efforts to expand and meet the mobile internet penetration digital transformation plan of the nation, our partners will play paramount roles in making fixed broadband internet service accessible,” said Ethio telecom.
In first half of the current budget year, the telecom giant, with a total 60.8 million subscribers, generated over 28 billion birr (US$565 million) in revenues.
