March 01, 2004

The recent articles issued on “Reporter” weekly newspaper regarding Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC) were mere conspiracies to defame ETC’s on-going huge development projects and multi-faceted encouraging operational activities and it should never be expected from any genuine and responsible press entity.

The Reporter’s baseless propaganda to degrade ETC’s lofty mission was emanated from its position and alignment with pro-privatization, which is now in a bitter opposition to ETC’s being stay under public ownership.

The newspaper’s report on ETC’s overall activities was not only a groundless hearsay with no evidence, but also it is a sort of defamation, which is contrary to the press law and journalistic ethics. Contrary to the Reporter’s allegation, ETC under ways procurement by pursuing a strict procurement policy and regulation that is well accepted at national and international level through its procurement committee composed of individuals ranging from technical people to Management and Board members based on the procurement level and undertakes bid bonds, bid evaluation and procurement process transparently, ethically and fairly treating all vendors in compliance with the laws and regulations of the land. Compared to the preceding years ETC’s financial capacity during 1995 E.C and 1996 E.C was in a better position contrary to the Reporter’s baseless description.

Furthermore, the Reporter’s allegation that “ETC’s management members are not in good terms with one another” is completely groundless. The fact is that ETC’s management members are working in harmony with strong team spirit and devotion more than ever before being hand-in-glove with one another to realize the mission of establishing a vibrant and reliable telecom industry from which our poverty-stricken nation would benefit substantially.

On another hand, ETC’s management usually encourages employees’ active participation in the decision process and in the implementation of the designed plan striving to empower them to act independently with self-initiative and confidence and to freely express their views developing feeling of belongingness to the corporation; and it would never suppress the employees’ freedom to expression of thoughts at any forum.

ETC attained 90 percent of the project performance target compared to the target set with regard to project performance for the first half of this fiscal year contrary to the Reporter’s article which allegedly described as only 23 percent of the planned project performance considering ETC as if it were under project crisis. This allegation was also a baseless conspiracy to distort ETC’s image and to discourage its ongoing vibrant activities. In contradiction to the Reporter’s article, ETC pursues a modern I.T based project management that is equipped with automation incorporating all necessary international project management principles and findings as guidelines for the project design and implementation.

The Reporter newspaper also allegedly stated, “the corporation’s ‘school net’ and multi-media projects have no business plan and adequate feasibility study”. This allegation was also far from the truth in that both projects were commenced after a deep study had been conducted along with well-designed business plan following a series of planning conference and workshops in which high expertise from all walks of life participated in addition to ETC management members. In doing so, ETC has proved not only the viability/profitability of these projects, but also their indispensability for the country’s sustainable development endeavours.

 The Reporter also considered these projects as if they were left with no owners. But the truth is that the projects have proper owners. For instance, the broadband VSAT network project (known as school Net project) is undertaken by ETC in collaboration with the Ministry of Education which would use the infrastructure by sending distance learning content; while the WoredaNet project based on VSAT through which 600 Woreda administration centers are scheduled to be connected for voice, data and video conferencing just after a couple of months, is undergoing earnestly by ETC in conjunction with the Ministry of Capacity Building.

 Contrary to the newspaper’s allegation regarding the corporation’s procurement of cable from Indian Company, the winner of the bid bond, the corporation has made the procurement of the cable in compliance with internationally accepted procurement regulation and procedures in which bidders were fairly invited at global level. Unfortunately, while ETC made technical investigation on the cable, it proved the cable’s failure to be eligible for the required service. And following this proof the corporation has taken all necessary legal steps to deal with the company so that the latter would be accountable for the discrepancy between the supplied cable and the standard set on the signed procurement agreement.  

Despite these allegations, ETC’s public ownership would keep on re-invigorating the on-going huge development projects and operational reforms to catch up with the ever-growing telecom industry and to meet the society’s increasing demand for information and telecommunication services.

The Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation is engaged in intensive reform program in such areas as civil service reform, capital projects and in operational aspects since March 2003. ETC is involved in six major focus areas of reform system overhaul in order to render better customer-centered services and to help facilitate the implementation of the country’s development programmes as well as to cope with the ever-growing technology worldwide in the telecom industry. In light of this, ETC is engaged in undertaking over 28 different huge projects derived from these six major focus areas with a total budget of 3.5 billion birr allocated during this Ethiopian fiscal year.

Since a mid of 1995 E.C budget year, a system re-engineering has been made by ETC to transform its traditional working styles and regulations into the modern and efficient ones specially in project management, procurement, finance, human resource and customer service areas. Under the customer service reform program the corporation has undergone restructuring and has made a wide range of improvements beginning from September 1996 E.C regarding bill collection, telephone line sales and installation, line fault maintenance and information services through introducing modern and efficient working procedures that are supported by automation. ETC has established a Free Call Center, which provides customers with basic information service regarding ETC’s operational areas.

The corporation is also undertaking other large capital projects. One of these is a mobile phone service expansion project, which includes international mobile roaming service, satellite mobile phone service, call-divert services, etc. Based on demand requests from subscribers ETC is currently completing a 200,000 lines mobile service expansion, which will expand coverage of mobile service to 12 major regional centers, their surroundings and routes in-between.   

ETC’s broadband VSAT network (a satellite based communication network) being implemented is capable of carrying voice, data and image with its unique capacity to deliver state-of-the art communication services to very remote sites. This communication infrastructure is deemed to play key roles in the nation’s ICT development by extending its services to more than 1,100 locations. By means of VSAT network, all secondary schools and higher learning institutions, 36 agriculture research centers and all woreda level government administrations would be the beneficiaries of ICT services. ETC’s huge broadband VSAT projects would bring a fundamental change in the country’s telecom infrastructure as well as create a high technological capability for the country.

Following the establishment of the modern Digital Data Network (DDN) in June 2001, the broadband multi-media network under implementation is the most advanced and high capacity ICT infrastructure. By using terrestrial communication media, this network delivers integrated voice, data and image service to all provincial towns.

Employing the most modern ICT communication technologies, the network interconnects the capital with a high capacity Metropolitan Optical network as well as 13 other provincial towns using digital radio systems. On this ICT infrastructure, broadband data and internet connectivity services will be rendered to private, government and other corporate customers. Establishment of the network is currently undergoing and it will be fully operational by the end of March 2004.

Successful implementation of this network will uplift the country one stage higher in the information age for it is to be on the course of economic development.

The third major component of Broadband Infrastructure, Broadband Internet project has been conceived to expand and upgrade the existing Internet to a much higher scale. A service structure above the physical network, Broadband Internet is intended  to deliver conventional and value-added services to wherever the Broadband VSAT and Multi-media networks reach. The three-stage ICT infrastructure building spearheaded by ETC is believed to form the most basic foundation for the agriculture led industrial development agenda that the country is pursuing.

In general, ETC is engaged in playing key roles in supporting national development efforts and in the introduction of an informed society as well as in helping the country integrate into the global economy and serving as a hub for business and communications at regional level. To this end, ETC’s community is equipped with new working culture with a view to achieving the corporation’s system overhaul objectives.

In pursuing to deliver basic telecommunication services based on modern technologies and with countrywide coverage, ETC endeavours to streamline its provisions of the fixed, mobile, internet and data services as the business modalities through exerting shared leadership and management to ensure a standard of excellence in service delivery.

It is at the encouraging moment of ETC’s devotion to implement the aforementioned huge projects and multi-faceted operational reform programmes as well as when ETC’s management opens its door to give information for media that the “Reporter” newspaper was dwelt upon spreading baseless and nasty rumour aimed at deliberately distorting ETC’s image.

 The newspaper kept on issuing a series of articles aimed at distorting facts pertaining to ETC’s ongoing diverse development and operational activities even without consulting the corporation ‘s concerned officials for the clarification of issues it intended to disseminate. ETC’s management and employees should never be perturbed and give attention to the baseless rumor with one-sided, unbalanced and full of fake descriptions contrary to journalism ethics and values, and ETC would keep on realizing its lofty mission of discharging multi-faceted activities. And it vigorously goes on playing a key role in supporting national development endeavours in the introduction of an informed society through the expansion of the national information and communication infrastructure development so as to significantly increase the telecom coverage, penetration as well as quality of telecom services across the nation.