Ethiopia Internet Case Study

2.3

Regulation and policy 

tion and the associated Broadcasting

making

Agency, which has just been

established. In Addis Abeba, there are

Telecommunication and information

just three radio channels, which are

technologies have not yet been

still owned by the Government, and

considered a development priority in

one TV channel, transmitting in

Ethiopia, which is still a relatively

Amharic, Oromo and Tygrigna. Foreign

closed society, little affected by

channels can be accessed via satellite

globalization, and is still emerging

dishes delivering subscription based

from almost two decades of

digital TV via the South Africa based

communist military rule and the war

DSTV service. Since 1994, the press

with neighbouring Eritrea. The country

has been liberalized and today there

is only now beginning to discuss

are around ten private newspapers in

liberalization of the sector and the

the country, however, distribution is

promotion of free flow of information.

largely confined to Addis Abeba.

Accordingly, all telecommunications

infrastructure and value added

Following the 1996 Proclamation and

services are still owned by the State.

Regulations, the Infrastructure

Ministry also has control over the

Telecommunications in Ethiopia fall

regulatory authority (ETA) to which it

under the authority of the Ministry of

appoints the General Manager and

Infrastructures, a sort of `supra'

approves the budget (Proclamation

ministry, which, besides telecommuni 

49/1996). The Agency was created as

cations, also oversees postal services,

an independent body to license and

energy, and transportation. The

supervise telecommunication service

Ministry, and specifically the

operators, issue equipment standards

telecommunication department, is

and manage the use of radio

responsible for the definition of

frequencies. ETA operates as a

national telecommunication policy,

governmental agency, with financial

excluding radio and television

and political dependence.

broadcasting, which fall under the

Administratively, the Agency is divided

authority of the Ministry of Informa 

into three directorates (standards and

quality control, licensing and

frequency management) and has

five services (legal, planning and

Figure 5: Phone shop in

programming, finance, public

Addis Abeba

relations and audit service). A

total of forty people are currently

working in the organization, but

only a small portion of them,

about seven or eight, have

professional qualifications.

ETC is the incumbent public

telecommunication operator and

has a monopoly over all

telecommunication services in

the country (fixed, mobile,

Internet and data

communications). ETC has to

carry out its functions in

accordance with government

policies and priorities, and its

activities are supervised by a

government appointed body

(Regulation 10/1996).

Nevertheless, the Corporation

operates as a commercial

company, it has its own budget

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