SEACOM signs backhaul deal with Ethiopia Telecommunications

The Ethiopian government has taken a major step toward opening up the telecommunications services sector by signing a contract with SEACOM for an international backhaul link via Djibouti.

The state-owned Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) signed the agreement with SEACOM. Ethiopia is landlocked and most of its shipping is through Djibouti, Sudan and Somalia.

The agreement is expected to lower costs of bandwidth and overall telecommunications costs, and provide new opportunities across many sectors of the Ethiopian economy.

"SEACOM is ideally suited to provide international connectivity that will complement ETC's extensive national initiative to link the country's businesses and end-users with fiber broadband connectivity," said Amare Amsalu, ETC CEO.

SEACOM bandwidth is expected to serve the ICT industry and education, clinical and scientific sectors, which rely on real-time global data sharing.

"The availability of high-quality broadband at lower prices will accelerate economic development and educational initiatives that will enhance lives and will also establish Ethiopia as an important commercial center for Africa and as a regional transit point for other service providers," added Amsalu.

The agreement will complement the Ethiopian government's project of rolling out a US$1.5 billion national initiative to improve the country's telecommunications infrastructure. The upgrade projects involve landline and mobile telecommunications services, and the national fiber-optic backbone network.

"SEACOM is honored to have been selected by ETC to provide this important international broadband connectivity element to Ethiopia. As we have seen in other countries that gained access to SEACOM, it is only a matter of time before the direct socio-economic benefits created by cheap and readily available bandwidth begin to manifest in Ethiopia and the region," said SEACOM CEO Brian Herlihy.

The private SEACOM cable is one of two in East Africa -- TEAMS, which is owned by the Kenyan government and private entities, has led to increased competition.

SEACOM has also concentrated on landlocked countries, including eastern and southern African countries such as Uganda and Rwanda. This ensures that SEACOM will gain a foothold in the landlocked markets before TEAMS and EASSy Cables venture in.