Broadcast Media Africa has learnt that Ethiopia’s state-owned telecoms company, Ethio Telecom, is considering forming a digital infrastructure partnership with China’s Shandong Hi-Speed Qianfang International Technology, Ogranak Beograd.
The partnership with the Chinese firm will allow the company to build a hyperscale data centre in Ethiopia.
Ethio Telecom aims to develop the country’s digital infrastructure and fulfil the growing data storage and processing capacity need.
“The proposed partnership involves the construction of a large-scale data centre that will provide secure, reliable and high-capacity data storage services to local and international clients.”
According to Ethio Telecom, the facility is expected to cater to the increasing data needs of various sectors, including finance, healthcare, and e-commerce, thereby contributing to Ethiopia’s digital transformation.
The move follows a recent announcement by Ethio Telecom stating that it is increasing its efforts to strengthen the capacity and coverage of telecoms and digital infrastructure through a series of network improvement projects to ensure service quality.
The company’s 4G mobile network was expanded to 966 sites in the current reporting period, while the 3G network was expanded to 682 locations.
As a result, the telco said 4G network service had been extended to an additional 124 cities and districts, increasing the total number of accessible 4G cities from 300 to 424.
Also, during the year, the number of 5G stations increased to 189 after the 5G network was expanded to 79 stations.
Additionally, 5G service is now available in four regional capitals, and implementation work is underway to make four more cities 5G-ready, the company said.
