Kenyan Telecom Giant goes live in Ethiopia

Four months after it missed operational launch, Safaricom-Ethiopia has begun a large-scale customer pilot of its network in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia’s second biggest city after the capital Addis Ababa. With an estimated population of half a million, the pilot is part of the company’s planned phased city-by-city roll-out ahead of the October national launch.

Residents in Dire Dawa can now purchase the 07 prefix SIM cards, choose their numbers, and access a range of network services.
Anwar Soussa, Safaricom Ethiopia chief executive officer, called the pilot an important milestone, as they begin opening the network to customers in order to test the end-to-end readiness of technical and commercial operations ahead of full network launch.

Three customer care centres have been set up around the city for registration, SIM card and device purchases and other client-support services.
The SIM cards are also available in branded shops and come with a welcome offer of data, voice and SMS for a month. Customers will also be able to purchase airtime vouchers to recharge.
Customer care services from the call centre will be available in Amharic, Tigrigna, Somali, Afan Oromo and English.

Customers will be able to access data services, calls and text messages to or from Safaricom Ethiopia lines and the state-owned Ethio Telecom network. They can also make or receive international calls.

Since acquiring the licence in July 2021, the company has invested in its network and building infrastructure, including its own mobile radio towers, national transmission network, and wholesale agreements for international connectivity.

The first private telecom company in Ethiopia, Safaricom last month, invested $1 billion, imported equipment worth over $300 million, developed its own core network, IT, products, and services, set up a call centre, and built two data centres.