Just when you think it can’t get any worse, ETC’s Internet service via CDMA and Dial Up access seems to be hitting a new low these days. Besides incredibly slow throughput, connection drop outs, busy signals or just plain absent dial tones are some of the new raft of problems plaguing its users, some of whom have lost all hope that the nation’s most profitable corporation can ever deliver significant improvements on its Internet service which is currently amongst the worst in Africa if not the world.
The story of Tele’s CDMA service is one that is particularly woeful. When it was first introduced less than 2years ago, it was touted as one of quantum leaps forward for the corporation and its unfortunately choice-less customers. Although it never ever delivered on the 230 kbps it advertised (or even came close for that matter) it initially did provide better throughput than dialup and of course added mobility into the mix which was a significant step forward indeed. In the Ethiopian context that is, since much of the rest of the world had been enjoying mobile broadband for much of the past decade. Surfers who could afford it eagerly snapped the ETB 1,800 modems and gladly shelled out the bucks to purchase minutes for their Huwawei or ZTE devices. So what if you couldn’t really watch a YouTube clip unless you chose to do it a few seconds at a time? At least you could jump on Facebook and even pull off a chat with your friends in Timbuctoo without leaving the comfort of your home.
Unfortunately, that ‘euphoria’ was short lived. It’s been a little while now since CDMA (for the most part) fell behind dialup. But the current situation is just plain ridiculous and demonstrates further that our government run telecom company has put us in the equivalent of the Stone Age when it comes to Internet access. Over the past few weeks, throughput over CDMA or dialup has consistently shown average transfer rates of under 3KB/s and sometimes much, much worse. Adding insult to injury, broadband access here remains one of the most expensive propositions on the continent for such service.
If there are 2 critical elements for increased economic development in the 21st century, they are telecommunications and power. Two areas where our current performance falls extremely short of where it needs to be.
