Ethiopia Sunday signed an $800-million telecommunications network expansion deal with ZTE in a move to increase mobile phone penetration and 3G internet access in Ethiopia and launch 4G broadband internet Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city.
The agreement starts off a $1.6 billion deal shared by ZTE and Huawei, both telecoms giants from China.
According to Ethio Telecom chief executive Andualem Admassie: “The expansion project is vital to attain Ethio Telecom’s objective of increasing telecoms service access and coverage across the nation as well as to upgrade the existing network.”
The deal will see 80% of Ethiopia covered by network coverage, boost mobile internet access to boost Ethiopia’s growth to reach middle-income status by 2025.