Dear Sirs,

I am a resident of Addis Ababa. I want to comment on the present Mobile phone service situation in Addis. As the millennium approaches, the Mobile service in Addis is getting worst. ETC is announcing that we should call 969 if we have a problem with the Mobile-this is a joke - What is the use for us to call thhem when they themselves know it is not working. They say the problem is because a new Chinese Company (ZTE) is installing its own equipments replacing Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei equipments. Hope this will not be the biggest scandal of the millennium-How is it possible for a Chinese Company with no clear record of operating elsewhere in the world (except in Niger, Afghanistan and other few poor countries where the Telephone system is very back word) will replace the equipments of the most tested Companies such as Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei and be successful. ETC must know CHEAP EQUIPMENTS ARE EASY TO GET THOUGH CREDIT, OR EVEN FREE nowadays. China is known for producing equipment of high and low quality. It is up to the buyer to choose. Hope ZTE will not repeat what it has done to ETC three years ago-supply 40 million USD worth equipment that could not even serve for a year. To  ETC and other concerned Government officials that sign the agreement what matters was not the quality of the equipment but the attractive personal commission they got from ZTE.

I think if ETC is to keep updated with the growing technology of the Telecommunication sector, it needs to keep Nokia, Ericsson, and Huawei on the field. ETC could learn from these competing Companies to improve its services -otherwise it is going to be monopoly by one Supplier who will be supplying poor quality equipment for a price that it will dictate.

In any case, we need good Telephone, Mobile and Internet services in this country. It is not a luxury to get these services anymore. It is a necessity.

Sesen Tekle

Aug 29, 2007