Ethiopia's full Internet service, launched
in January 1997, is run on a monopoly basis by the Ethiopian Telecommunications
Corporation (ETC). The ETC operates a 10,240 Kbps connection, with 8 POPs
and a capacity to accomodate 14,000 dial-up subscribers. This was achieved from the
original 512 Kbps through an expansion project implemented by the Government working
jointly with UNDP. It involved a funding of US$ 600,000 from UNDP and a contribution of
US$ 700,000 from the government.
The ETC introduced new tariffs as of August
2002 following the completion of the upgrading process. This has brought a 40 - 50 %
reduction in monthly fees.
According to ETC's web site, the following
tariffs are applicable to Internet services as of August 2002 (US$ 1.00 = Birr 8.57).
| Item |
Fee |
| Dial-up
Service |
|
|
|
Birr 332.00 |
|
|
Birr 23.00 |
- Utilization Fee (Up to 1800 minutes)
|
Birr 0.11/min. |
- Utilization Fee (1801 to 3600 minutes)
|
Birr 0.08/min. |
- Utilization Fee (Above 3600 minutes)
|
Birr 0.06/min. |
| 64 Kbps
Dedicated Service |
|
|
|
Birr 1,872.00 |
|
|
Birr 100.00 |
|
|
Birr 4,752.00 |
|
|
Birr 4,752.00 |
Source: Ethiopian Telecommunication
Corporation (ETC).
The ETC has also started issuing
.et domains as of 2002. These are .com.et, .gov.et,
.org.et, .edu.et, .net.et, .biz.et,
.name.et, and .info.et Until 2002, the only Ethiopian
domain available was that of ETC's - www.telecom.net.et.
The British Council,
in addition to its established cyber café offering Internet services to its members in
Addis Ababa, has also opened telecentres in Wolisso (2000) and Debre Birhan (2001). It
soon expects to open a third telecentre in Axum. Several cyber cafés have also mushroomed
in major cities and towns despite the fact that the laws don't yet allow others except ETC
to resale telecom related services. The ETC, despite its pledge to open cyber cafés, has
only managed to open one in the capital city as of 2002.
Internet host sites: 37 (2002)
Internet susbcribers (2002):
- Total: 6,152
- Susbcribers per 10,000 inhabitants: 0.98
Internet Users (2001):
- Total: 25,000
- Users per 10,000 inhabitants: 3.88
Internet bandwidth (Kbps): 10,240
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