Dramatic Network Modernization on the Roof of Africa
——ETC Witnesses Unprecedented Achievements

Ethiopia has one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. Located in northeastern Africa, Ethiopia is known as the Roof of Africa, with an average altitude of 3,000 meters above the sea level. Ethiopia has a land of 1.1 million square kilometers, 2/3 of which are plateau areas, with a population of nearly 80 million.

Ethiopia Telecom Corporation (ETC) is the largest telecommunication operator in Ethiopia. Founded in 1894, ETC is the only state-owned telecom operator and one of the oldest state-owned companies in Ethiopia. Currently, ETC runs all the telecom networks of the whole country, including all voice and data networks for transmission, fixed lines and mobile communications. It is a comprehensive operator with GSM, CDMA and PSTN networks.

ETC aims to be the top multinational operator in Africa and the complete modernization of its networks is a critical step for realizing this strategic goal. After years of close cooperation, ETC has designated ZTE as its most important strategic partner.

A model project of China-Africa cooperation

The cooperation between ETC and ZTE has started since 2001. ZTE supplied ETC 1.35 million lines of equipment, which worth 11,000 carrier frequency.　 Since 2006 when ZTE launched the new GSM series products, ETC has relied more on this innovative partner, as it signed contracts with ZTE for constructing networks of over 5 million lines, with a total price of over USD 600 million. By September 2007, the network capacity reached nearly 6.5 million lines.

Currently, ETC has selected ZTE to be the exclusive supplier for the following 3 years. With this telecom project, ETC has remarkably improved the communication conditions throughout Ethiopia and has financially taken the lead in Africa. The project has been recognized as "a model project of China-Africa cooperation", having brought benefits to the operator, government, enterprises, banks and the whole society.

According to the figures released by ETC, the revenues of ETC was only over USD 200 million from June 2007 to June 2008, while its revenues reached over USD 400 million with profits of USD 160 million from June 2008 to March 2009. Its annual revenue was doubled in just nine months. Along with the rapid increase in revenues, ETC has also significantly driven the development of Ethiopia's telecom market. Mobile users in the domestic market rose quickly from 1.2 million in September 2007 to 4.3 million in September 2009; the penetration rate of mobile users has also increased from 1.6% in September 2007 to the current 5.1%.

Unprecedented achievements

On April 19, 2008, ETC and ZTE signed a telecom contract under which ZTE was to complete a turnkey project and the delivery covered network planning, design, transport, customs clearance, site survey, installation, deployment and optimization. The project involved 320 routers, 1929 BTSs, 8 core networks, 9,198 km of optical cables, 138 sets of DWDM equipment, 1,162 sets of power supply, 1,731 towers, 732 shelters, 1,695 sets of microwave equipment, etc. , for realizing coverage in 161 cities, 50 trunk highways and 3,586 remote villages around the country. Currently, Ethiopia has over 6,000 kilometers of optical cables, one of the longest among African countries.

After GSM Phase3, the network signals will cover 64% of its national land area, with a network capacity of about 10 million lines. Its CDMA network has a capacity of 2.4 million lines and covers about 90% of its national land area, so more users can enjoy quality communication services in rural areas now.

Two phases are planned for the IP NGNII project implementation. During the first phase from 2008 to 2011, T1200 was requested for building BR network, which included the multi-layered network construction of CR, ER and CS, and the access of NGN, GSM, CDMA and the Internet. During the second phase from 2011 to 2015, T8000 is to replace the BR network built on T1200, while the equipment of the other multi-layered network remains unchanged.

ETC has been convinced by ZTE's continuous network services . The most exiting moment was the success of the millennium project. In April 2007, ETC and ZTE signed a contract for network swap and capacity expansion. ZTE overcame difficulties such as tight schedules, tough conditions during rainy seasons, and high technical risks in swap and cutover. In September 2007, ZTE's equipment successfully underwent the peak traffic during the Millennium of the Ethiopian calendar. Ethiopia's premier praised the performance as "unprecedented in the Ethiopian telecom history".

To satisfy the requirement of ETC for bearing GSM services, ZTE built two networks for NGN and GSM respectively. Specifically, the MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) uses high-end optical transmission equipment ZXMP M800, while the access network uses CWDM equipment ZXMP M600 and fixed network MSAG for the solution. ZTE applied a variety of advanced communication technologies to ensure that the network planning is forward looking for future smooth upgrading. ZTE planned three phases for project implementation which have extensively improved ETC's level of operation, revenues and profits for ETC to maintain profitability, solvency and sustainability.

Success secret of the exclusive supplier

Until 2007, there was hardly any local business engaged as subcontractors for telecom equipment projects. ZTE was dedicated to training many local subcontractors at the beginning of the project and continuously helped them to grow as the project proceeded. Some of its subcontractors are now capable of full turnkey delivery. ZTE presently has subcontracted with 5 local network designing institutes, 12 construction firms and up to 5 engineering supervision companies.

ZTE is also socially responsible and is committed to promoting local education and long-term cooperation with its Ethiopia partners. In November, 2007, ZTE donated a video conference system to the Ministry of Education of Ethiopia. The system connects four offices of the Ministry in Addis Ababa and a university 400 kilometers away.

To date, ZTE has given training to over 100 instructors of various products and engineers of GSM, CDMA, data, fixed network, etc. for ETC and the trainees have contributed greatly to the development of Ethiopia's telecom sector. ZTE has set up labs in Ethiopia for training of communication engineers and contributed equipments worth over USD 10 million for use by the teachers and trainees of the labs.

For years, ZTE has been actively involved in activities of the local communities in Ethiopia and donated generously to local charities. Now ZTE has established a good reputation as one of the most favored foreign enterprises in Ethiopia.