01 February 2023

Ethio Telecom has restored telecommunications services in 27 towns in the Tigray region, including the capital Mekele. This follows the company’s repair of 981km of optical fibre out of the 1,800km damaged during the conflict that has plagued the region for two years.

Maintenance works are continuing to restore telecom services to areas of Tigray that still lack access to such services.

The partial restoration of telecom services in Tigray came a few weeks after the signing of a ceasefire agreement which put an end to the conflict which had opposed since November 2020 the regular army of Ethiopia and the forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The agreement provides for the restoration of basic services which have been cut in the region since the beginning of the war. While the government is committed to respecting the terms of the agreement to guarantee a lasting peace, no timetable has yet been put in place for this.

The restoration of telecom services in the Tigray region has enabled thousands of people to connect there for the first time in more than two years. This should also help to further expand the Ethiopian telecom market in full liberalization and accelerate the government’s digital transformation ambitions.