Tigray conflict: Ethio Telecom reports over $ 70 million loss

Ethio Telecom is seen in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Ethio Telecom headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Photo credit: File

Ethio Telecom says it has lost 3.67 billion birr (roughly $ 74 million) in the last six months due to the ongoing conflict in the northern part of Ethiopia.

This is according to a first half-year performance report issued this week by the state-run Ethiopian Telecom utility.

The report seen by Nation.Africa, shows that the company achieved only 86.4 percent of the total revenue it expected to earn during the last six months.

It reported earning only 28 billion birr ($ 560 million) in the first half of the budget year, an increase of 6.7 percent compared to the same period last year.

Despite the losses, Ethio Telecom however said that the revenue secured during the past six months is significant given the country's difficult situation.

Tigray conflict

Officials blamed the spill of the Tigray conflict, which led to the destruction of infrastructure and disruption of telecom services in neighbouring regions, for the loss in revenue.

The report further alleged that over 3,470 Ethio Telecom stations in parts of the country's north were forced to halt providing service because the war had spread from the troubled Tigray region to neighbouring Afar and Amhara regional states.

Total blackout

Although there is a total blackout of telecommunications services in Tigray since the conflict broke out early in November 2020, Ethio Telecom performance report indicates that it has spent some 7 million USD to restore Telecom services on the war affected areas.  

60 million subscribers

The company, which currently has over 60 million subscribers, says it is undertaking a wide range of projects to boost network coverage and service quality across the country.

Despite the bloody civil war in the northern part of the country and other man-made obstacles, the company's performance report revealed that it had expanded its 4G LTE project into 136 cities. 

The company said it had also launched a new digital money transaction service called TeleBirr, which has reached more than 13 million customers, with a total transaction of 102.26 million USD involving more than 46,000 agents and over 11,000 traders.

Ethio Telecom was the sole telecommunications provider in Ethiopia until the government recently awarded a license to Kenya's Safaricom to operate in the horn of Africa's nation.