Ethio Telecom reports that ongoing talks are underway with global streaming service Netflix to iron out challenges to the commercial and operational aspects of the service’s rollout in the country.
Netflix already has local cache servers on Ethio Telecom’s network, but the state-owned company says it still needs the technical infrastructure to launch commercially across the country. The two companies are still in talks to find a viable business model that will facilitate wider market access.
The local infrastructure was acquired after several years of negotiation, the Chief Executive Officer of Ethio Telecom, Frehiwot Tamiru, revealed during the presentation of the company’s financial year 2025/26 performance.
The talks were hampered by historical constraints on digital infrastructure in Ethiopia and doubts about the size of the country’s subscriber base, Netflix said.
The locally hosted servers are part of Netflix’s Open Connect Content Delivery Network (CDN), which places frequently viewed content near the user to facilitate streaming, minimise buffering, and reduce network congestion. But Ethio Telecom said the infrastructure is in place, but the commercial aspects, such as business model matters and market readiness, remain to be sorted out before the service can be fully rolled out.
While negotiations are ongoing, Tamiru noted the current Netflix commercial strategy does not fit the market conditions in Ethiopia. The company did not specify what the outstanding business issues were.
The situation is similar to the rest of the African markets where international streaming companies are struggling. Broadband penetration remains limited, data charges remain high, digital payment restrictions persist, and changing consumer buying habits continue to shape how global streaming services will grow across the continent. Consequently, more and more providers have been turning to the telecommunications operators for distribution and customer access.
Notwithstanding such difficulties, Ethio Telecom believes that it is continuing to build up the digital infrastructure for Ethiopia to boost its bandwidth and digital service capacity in line with increasing demand.
Its total international internet gateway capacity has grown to 4.3 terabits per second, following further investments in internet transmission networks and content delivery infrastructure, the operator has said. CDN capacity rose by 820 gigabits per second as a result of five partnerships with local content delivery providers, to reach a total of 2,062 gigabits per second locally. The capacity of international gateways also increased by 750 gigabits per second, to 2,040 gigabits per second.
The investments are aimed at diminishing network latency, enhancing service resilience, and meeting the country’s fast-growing Internet traffic demand, the company said.
In addition, Ethio Telecom’s 2025/26 financial and operational performance was impressive. The company met the annual performance targets by 99.7%, and total revenue amounted to 215.8 billion birr.
The subscriber base increased by 8.3% to 90.12 million, and the active mobile subscribers increased to 72.09 million. The number of mobile data and internet users rose to 51.53 million, and fixed broadband subscriptions crossed the one-million mark.
Network expansion also took place throughout the year, with 603 new mobile base stations installed to bring the total to 10,613. The operator reported that 4G population coverage is 82.23% and 5G service has been extended to 33 cities nationwide.
Ethio Telecom also laid 793 kilometres of backbone fibre to boost national connectivity, bringing the total fibre network to 23,442.1 kilometres and an extra 841 mobile sites. The company also continued to enhance its data centre infrastructure, operating five megawatts of power at six Tier III data centres in Addis Ababa and regional cities to support the growth of Ethiopia’s digital economy.
