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The ‘Ethiopia Telecom Market Assessment’ launched by the World Bank and Digital Development Partnership (DDP) this week highlights the potential low earth orbit (LEO) satellite providers such as Starlink and OneWeb offer in terms of providing easily configured internet services to remote unconnected rural areas.
The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) was urged to consider issuing licenses for satellite operators like Starlink in order to maximize connectivity and digitization, according to a new report by the World Bank.
The ‘Ethiopia Telecom Market Assessment’ launched by the World Bank and Digital Development Partnership (DDP) this week highlights the potential low earth orbit (LEO) satellite providers such as Starlink and OneWeb offer in terms of providing easily configured internet services to remote unconnected rural areas.
LEO satellite services could also prove a useful tool for humanitarian response efforts, according to the assessment. Although the assessment praises the government’s decision to liberalize the telecom sector, claiming the move boosted GDP growth, it also criticizes the uneven playing field between state-owned giant Ethio telecom and recent entrant Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia.
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Safaricom Ethiopia was formed after the Global Partnership for Ethiopia, a consortium composed of Kenya’s Safaricom, Vodafone, and the Japanese Sumitomo, acquired Ethiopia’s first telecom operator’s license in May 2021 for a US 850 million fee.
