14 June 2024
Safaricom Ethiopia has announced the launch of its commercial activities in the Tigray region.
The company will now provide Tigrayans with its mobile phone, internet, SMS and mobile money services (via M-Pesa).
The deployment of Safaricom in Tigray will be carried out in two phases. In the first phase, 125 self-built towers were installed. The second phase will see the erection of 166 additional towers to reach the remaining cities. The company intends to build an independent, state-of-the-art and 5G-ready 4G network.
As of 31 March, Safaricom Ethiopia's network already covered 40% of the Ethiopian population. In April, the company announced an investment of $1.5 billion over the next three years to expand the coverage of its telecoms network.
“Building a great network takes time, and we are committed to continually improving and optimizing our network. Our network will seamlessly connect to the global mobile network and be interconnected with the other network in Ethiopia, enabling effortless communication with users of the other service provider,” said Safaricom Ethiopia in a statement.
The advent of Safaricom's network in Tigray is expected to allow the company to reach millions more people in a country of around 120 million people with a mobile penetration rate of 38.5%.
