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338 Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia
Figure 8.5 Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation Reported Income and
Expenditure, 2001–08
3,500
3,000
2,500
Br, millions
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 a 2008
year ending
income
expenditure
a. Data not available.
Customer Perceptions of the ETC
Despite recent improvements, from the consumer’s perspective, the ETC
has over the past five years earned a reputation for
• not meeting the demand for fixed-line, mobile, and Internet services;
• providing slow and unreliable Internet access;
• charging high rates as means of curtailing demand;
• seeking to curtail and control communication;
• managing its billing system poorly;
• coordinating technical standards poorly;
• having weak procurement systems; and
• hesitating over market liberalization.
Not all of these widely quoted perceptions are borne out by the evidence,
particularly when account is taken of recent developments. 8 The
ETC noted the following:
• Not meeting demand. Waiting lists for some services remain high but are
falling. According to ETC data, the waiting list for fixed-line services
fell from 157,000 in 2004 to 19,000 in 2008.