Ethiopia Internet Case Study

3.

Internet strategy and policy

3.1

Status of the Internet

to dial up access and local website

hosting and development.

The use of the Internet in Ethiopia

began in 1993 when the UN Economic

The ETC took over the administration

Commission for Africa (whose

of the .et Top Level Domain (TLD) from

headquarters are in Addis Abeba)

the technical administrator at UNECA

established a store and forward e 

when the EthioNet service was

mail service called PADISNet (Pan

launched, and although it has

African Documentation and

developed a tariff for hosting

Information Service Network) which

subdomains of .et, it has yet to allow

connected daily via direct dial calls to

registration of new subdomains.

GreenNet's Internet gateway in

London. Because no other services

Training for users is provided via the

were available, the facility was heavily

ETC's Ethiopian Telecommunications

used by international organizations

Training Institute (ETTI) and free

and NGOs, but also by some

telephonic technical support is given

academics, individuals and private

for setup and e mail issues, while

companies. At its peak the service had

directing other support queries to its

about 1'200 users.

helpdesk e mail address.

In the following year, the US based

Within a month of its launch EthioNet

NGO, HealthNet, established a node

had over 600 users and this grew to

at the Medical Faculty of the University

1'750 by February 1998 (including

of Addis Abeba, which provided e mail

200 in other towns), 2'500 in December

access to medical researchers via the

1999 (when bandwidth was upgraded

HealthSat/VITA Low Earth Orbit (LEO)

to 1Mbps, with an additional 1Mbps

satellite.

added in June 2000) and about 3'500

by March 2001, at which point the

In 1996, a broadly constituted cross 

facility was deemed to have reached

sectoral national Internet working

maximum capacity.  In line with ETC's

group supported by the Ethiopian

generally high level of service

Science and Technology Commission

standards, and because performance

(ESTC), called Bringing Internet to

levels would have suffered by adding

Ethiopia (BITE), drew up a detailed

more users, no more subscribers were

national Internet proposal. This,

accepted in anticipation of an upgrade

together with the PADIS/HealthNet

to the service which was being planned

services, helped build significant

with assistance from UNDP's Internet

demand for full Internet access

Initiative for Africa (IIA) programme.

which was ultimately provided by

Although the project took some time

ETC in January 1997. Following a

to begin, UNDP provided funding of

survey of the potential market,

USD 900'000, with the Ethiopian

G l o b a l   O n e   w a s   c o n t r a c t e d   t o

Government contributing a further

commission the service (called

USD 700'000 to establish 8 more PoPs

EthioNet), carry out training and

in the country: 4 large PoPs (64 dial 

provide the upstream International

up modems) in Mekele, Bahir Dar,

bandwidth (256Kbps initially) via

Awassa and Jimma, and 4 smaller

ETC's existing satellite earth station

ones (32 modems) in Dessie, Gondar,

and circuits to the United States

Lekemte and Dire Dawa. These PoPs

(backhauled to central Addis Abeba

were connected to the Addis Abeba

via microwave). Because ETC did not

Internet gateway via domestic

have a leased line data service at the

satellite and became operational in

time, Internet services were limited

June 2001.

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