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The Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC)
began supplying mobile SIM cards in the Addis Abeba
Bole International Airport passengers’ terminal to
the Diaspora coming for the Millennium on August 21,
2007.
Sources at ETC told Fortune that the cards
are sold to the returnees after they supply a copy
of their passports.
“We believe that the majority of the Diaspora are
coming home for the Millennium,” said an official at
ETC. “However, even if some are coming for other
reasons, they will be beneficiaries as long as they
directly come off the plane and show their
passports.”
The post-paid service the Corporation launched in
1999 was changed to a pre-paid system in 2003. Until
it stopped distributing SIM cards in 2006, ETC
attracted 1.2 million subscribers.
Though the 1.2 million mobile network expansion
carried out by Nokia and Ericsson was supposed to be
completed in 2006, its completion took over a year
and half.
ETC also announced this expansion project is
finalised now and ready to be distributed to
customers for the Ethiopian Millennium. But with
only 16 days remaining, the Corporation could manage
to distribute this limited number of lines only to
the Diaspora Ethiopians.
ETC has sacked various administrative officials who
it considered contributors to the project delay of
Nokia and Ericcson.
ETC had since 2005 outsourced the distribution of
SIM cards from its branches to six private companies
but it stopped from mid 2006 to now.
“I am baffled to see the Corporation open its own
outlet at the airport terminal,” said an owner of
one of the six companies.
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