Ethio telecom CEO, Frehiwot Tamiru, presented the company’s 2024/25 fiscal year performance results, announcing a 72.9% year-over-year (YoY) increase in total revenue and the successful completion of its three-year LEAD Growth Strategy.
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Fiscal Overview
For the fiscal year running from July 2024 to June 2025, Ethio telecom generated ETB 162 billion in revenue (approximately USD 2.8 billion), with foreign currency earnings reaching USD 213.6 million. The company’s subscriber base grew to 83.2 million, a 6.2% increase from the previous year, raising national telecom penetration to 73.7%.
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Mobile Network Coverage Update
Tamiru detailed the rollout of 1,683 new mobile sites, nearly half of which are located in rural areas. This expansion increased 4G population coverage from 37.5% to 70.8%, while overall mobile network coverage now reaches 99.4% of the population and 86.5% of the country’s geography. Network capacity expanded to serve 104.8 million subscribers. Additionally, 5G services were extended to 26 cities, and massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technology was deployed at 306 sites.
Ethio telecom added 686 kilometers of backbone fiber, bringing the total to 22,673 kilometers, and increased optical distribution network (ODN) capacity to 951,982 connections. Fiber was also extended to urban mobile sites, alongside the installation of 216 kilometers of metro ring protection to enhance network reliability.
Growth in Digital Financial Services
The company experienced robust growth in digital financial services, with telebirr registering 7.3 million new users during the year, bringing its total to 54.84 million users. telebirr facilitated transactions worth ETB 2.38 trillion, including ETB 13.2 billion in micro-loans and ETB 11.2 billion in digital savings. The platform also generated USD 14.4 million through international remittance services.
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Addressing Connectivity Demand
Ethio telecom expanded its cloud and data services to meet rising demand. Its data center now operates at 5 MW IT load, featuring 624 racks and cloud infrastructure delivering over 31,000 virtual central processing units (CPUs), supporting more than 650 government and private institutions.
In rural areas, 2,388 previously unserved villages were connected to mobile service, reaching 5.9 million residents. To improve service reliability, the company installed 141 solar power systems and commissioned 66 new generators.
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CSR Overview
During the year, 10.4 million citizens enrolled in the National Digital ID Program via Ethio telecom centers, generating ETB 2.94 billion in revenue.
The company also contributed ETB 450 million to corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives focused on education, health, humanitarian aid, and environmental sustainability.
Tamiru emphasized that the three-year LEAD Growth Strategy resulted in 100% revenue growth, 16.6 million new customers, ETB 22.4 billion in cost savings, and significant gains in smartphone and service accessibility. Over the same period, Ethio telecom launched 838 new or improved products, expanded its data and fiber network, and increased its total asset value from ETB 215 billion to ETB 329 billion.
Ethio telecom’s achievements over the past year and during the strategy period earned multiple recognitions, including awards from Juniper Research, AVAYA, and the GSMA Board.
