Ethio-Telecom and ZTE, the Ethiopian arm of the Chinese state-owned enterprise have been shortlisted for the European Broadband award. The award handed by the European Commission is meant to recognize broadband infrastructures around the world.
The recognition notes Ethiopia’s rapid implementation of massive telecom expansion projects to help it enhance the social economic development in the country. This is to allow important institutions such as the tourism sector, academic and financial institutions and citizens to have broadband services as their basic infrastructures.
The award comes in ten categories including noted achievement in fixed mobile convergence, best consumer facing OTT service, social impact, best smartphone network, best network virtualization, consumer choice, and best consumer 1Gbps and 10Gbps services, access solution and best wireless solution.
The duo is nominated in the social impact category.
The government-owned telecom agency contracted ZTE to help modernize the broadband infrastructures in the country a decade ago. It has since renewed the relationship by awarding another contract to deploy 100G DWDMOTN backbone and help it raise the transmission capacity by tenfold.
This is to help develop the infrastructure for 3G, LTE and broadband services across the country.
“Our ambition is to have gigabit connectivity, 5G and better internet in rural areas”, said Gunther H. Oettinger, then Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society at the ceremony last year. “The success of achieving the previous broadband targets only encourages us to raise the bar and jump higher”.
The projects of the recipients will then be showcased at the Broadband Days in Brussels a month later. This year, the European Commission will also inaugurate the Broadband Competence Offices Network to advocate and help promote broadband services around the world.
This is the first time Ethio-Telecom has been shortlisted for the prestigious prize. The Reporter reached out to Abdurahim Ahmed, the Press and Public Relations officer of Ethio-Telecom and he confirmed the short listing of the company.
The recipients are chosen by a jury composed of experts in broadband. Winners are to be awarded by the new European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, former European Union parliamentarian, Mariya Gabriel at a ceremony in Berlin on October 25.
