Internet in Ethiopia – Is Ethiopia Off-line or Wired to the Rim?

By Samuel Kinde

Few things in Ethiopia cause as much frustration and despair than the ongoing and deteriorating dismal state of Internet connectivity in the country. Given how the country continues to struggle with fundamental issues of development for its 80 million people, this lack of progress – and in some cases complete reversal of earlier growth – tests the hope of the most optimist observers and stake-holders.
In a test carried over 4 weeks time in July 2007, the average speed of Internet connectivity in the country had dropped to as low as 5 KBps. Photo: MediaETHIOPIA.

A case in point is the state of access to the web over the past several years through the numerous Internet cafes that have popped in most major parts of the country. In a test carried over 4 weeks time in July 2007, the average speed of Internet connectivity in the country had dropped to as low as 5 KBps. This is in par with the speed of most 4200 Baud modems the rest of the world was using in the early 90s – almost a century ago in Internet time… Read more