Ethio Telecom Hikes International Call Rates by 658% Amid Rising Costs

Ethiopia’s state-owned telecom provider, Ethio Telecom, has announced a significant tariff increase across its services, citing rising operational expenses due to the country’s new floating exchange rate policy implemented two months ago.

Range of Services Affected

The new tariffs impact mobile services, fixed and wireless broadband, international calls, Telebirr transfers, and SMS. Ethio Telecom explained that the sharp devaluation of the Ethiopian Birr (ETB) has drastically inflated its costs, especially for imported technology, international bandwidth, and equipment—most of which are paid for in foreign currencies.

Rising Costs Due to Exchange Rate Changes

“The recent changes in the exchange rate have drastically inflated our costs, particularly for infrastructure and international services, making it unsustainable to maintain our current tariffs,” the company stated. Ethio Telecom highlighted that the tariff adjustments are critical to ensuring the company’s sustainability in the face of these mounting costs.

Affordability Maintained for Low-Value Packages

Despite the overall increase, Ethio Telecom has made efforts to keep certain popular low-cost packages affordable. Daily packages priced at 3 and 5 birr, the 1 birr/hour offer, as well as student and night packages, remain unchanged to minimize the impact on consumers with limited budgets.

Significant Increases in International Calls and Transfers

The most significant changes are in international call rates, which have surged by up to 658%, and Telebirr transfers to banks, which have also seen a sharp increase. Ethio Telecom attributes these increases to the rising costs of infrastructure and services that rely on foreign currencies for equipment and maintenance.

Voice and Data Services See Price Adjustments

For voice services, the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) option has seen a 20% price increase, while data PAYG remains unchanged at 0.20 birr per MB. Data packages have increased by an average of 18%, and voice packages by 37%. Additionally, the cost of a SIM card has increased to 85 birr, but the unlimited monthly mobile data package remains the same.