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CHAPTER 8
Corruption in the
Telecommunications Sector in
Ethiopia: A Preliminary Overview
Introduction
Although service delivery remains low compared with neighboring
Sub-Saharan African countries, the telecommunications sector in
Ethiopia is now expanding rapidly. Sector investment in the past
10 years has exceeded US$14 billion and is currently sustained at
about 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). This investment
is taking place under the auspices of a state-owned monopoly: the
Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) is the sole provider
of telecommunications services in Ethiopia (including fixed-line,
mobile, Internet, and data communications); telecoms equipment is
provided and installed by international suppliers.
The telecommunications sector in Ethiopia is characterized by paradox
and controversy. Despite the country’s exceptionally heavy recent
investment in its telecoms infrastructure, it has the second lowest
This chapter draws on fieldwork conducted by Neill Stansbury in 2009 and is supplemented
by additional internal research.
Although this chapter results from studies completed by January 2010, the process of checking,
reviewing, and securing agreement for publication was finally brought to conclusion
only in late 2011. The chapter is therefore put forward with the caveat that while it reflects
the situation at the time of the study, some details will have understandably changed.
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