Ethiopia’s sole telecom service provider Ethio Telecom announced it has expanded its 4G LTE advanced mobile internet service to 22 towns across the country, taking the total number of 4G LTE internet service beneficiary towns to 144. Some 92 towns have been covered in 2020/21 budget year alone.
Deder, Dubti, Debark, Este, Shehadi/Genda Weha, Woreta, Jawi, Adet, Bichena, Dejen, Mota, Asela, Goba, Robe, Sodere, Batu, Halaba, Durame, Konso, Sawla, Shinshicho and Worabe are the major ones among the 22 towns included in the 4G LTE service expansion.
Following up in a promise it made earlier, Ethio Telecom expressed that it has been “immensely working” to finalize its phase II network upgrading and expansion to meet the ever-growing demand for the service. The company said it has also upgraded the existing 4G LTE service in ten cities: Dessie, Debre Tabor, Gondar, Bahir Dar, Debre Markos, Logiya, Hosaena, Sodo, Arbaminch and Butajira.
Ethio Telecom noted the high bandwidth or high-speed features and reliable data services of 4G LTE will enable and empower users to join the digital world, increase productivity and improve their experiences.
Ethio Telecom has called upon all players in the ecosystem to “use the opportunity” for providing useful content and affordable handsets as well as to join hands in realizing digital inclusion in order to foster the need for a digital economy.
Existing customers can upgrade their 3G SIM cards to 4G without any additional charge, Ethio Telecom pointed out. The company has also said it will continue to undertake “massive” 4G LTE expansion in the rest of the country.
Ethio Telecom launches 4G LTE services in 22 towns
Interview with Maha Al Gargawi, Expo 2020 Dubai spokesperson
Can you brief us about Expo 2020 in general and what it tries to achieve?
World Expos are a celebration of the human spirit. They are global events that illustrate the best of humanity, where the nations of the world come together to showcase the best-in-class solutions that drive human progress and tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems. Expo 2020 Dubai is proud to be following this 170-year old tradition by putting on the largest event ever staged in the Arab world. Expo 2020 Dubai is the first World Expo to take place in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia (MEASA) region. Importantly, it is the first mega-event of its kind since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Expo 2020 is an opportunity for the world to convene again in a spirit of hope. By bringing together 192 countries, it is a timely reminder of the power of global cooperation and the importance of creating a forum for sharing solutions from a local to global scale to build a better future for all.
How can Africa play a leading or active role in Expo 2020?
Africa is the youngest, fastest-growing continent on the planet. The world’s population is predicted to rise from 7.7 billion in 2019 to almost 11 billion by 2100 – with Sub-Saharan Africa accounting for most of the growth over the coming decade. The UAE and Africa have a long-standing, flourishing relationship, and Expo 2020 Dubai will offer an unprecedented platform for African countries to collaborate and make connections that will drive their progress and prosperity.
The African Union has its own pavilion at Expo 2020, one that showcases the continent’s promise and aspirations as reflected in Agenda 2063, which addresses agriculture, transport, science and technology and health. Expo 2020’s subthemes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability go to the heart of the continent’s future aspirations: ensuring jobs, education and healthcare for all; offering easy and equitable access to transport and ideas; and balancing development with preserving the environment for future generations.
How many African countries are participating in the Expo 2020? And how are the organizers helping these countries?
For the first time in the history of World Expos, every African nation is participating, each with its own pavilion. Expo 2020 offers an unrivalled opportunity for all countries to reach an international audience, seek investments and forge new partnerships that will open up new markets and reinvigorate their economies.
What do you think Africa can offer to the world?
The world can learn a lot from how Africa embraces its accomplishments and overcomes its challenges – ranging from the global health pandemic to climate change, sustainable food supply, and equal access to the basic human rights of education, digitalisation and healthcare.
Every country is also showcasing its own unique culture, both at its pavilion and during the country’s national day celebrations at Expo 2020. The continent’s diverse culinary traditions is on display at Alkebulan, the African dining hall, where seven world-renowned chefs are bringing their latest creations to the table. Alkebulan, the African dining hall, where seven world-renowned chefs are bringing their latest creations to the table.
Expo’s extensive arts programme includes Afrobeat music, Senegal’s Ballet National and Angolan percussionists, while individual Country Pavilions are highlighting everything from eco-tourism to space exploration. Visitors to Expo 2020 can also learn how Expo is supporting many grass-roots innovations via its Expo Live initiative and Global Best Practice Programme. These include a tele-medicine platform that screens and diagnoses women in rural Cameroon for breast and cervical cancers; and a social enterprise in Rwanda that is improving the lives of female coffee farmers and their families through barista training and the promotion of local coffee consumption.
And what do you think Africa will gain from Expo 2020?
Over its six-month duration, Expo 2020 will welcome more than 200 participants, with many – including individual countries, educational institutions, trade authorities and multilateral organisations – eager to widen and deepen their ties with Africa. To enable this, Expo 2020 offers a platform for Africa to share its plans and achievements, seek investments and solutions to its challenges, forge new relationships across the continent and across the globe, and continue its shift from donor-dependency to productive partnerships.
All African countries will also be able to take advantage of extensive business engagement opportunities, from seminars and summits, to networking and product launches that will take place across the Expo calendar. An example of this is the Global Business Forum Africa which was held on 13-14 October and brought the trade and investment community together to explore bilateral trade opportunities between Dubai and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Expo 2020 will also build on initiatives such as the UAE’s USD 500-million Consortium for Africa, which was launched last year and is focused on youth and digitalisation.
How do the organisers cope up with protocols of COVID?
Expo 2020 takes the COVID-19 pandemic very seriously. The health, safety and wellbeing of everyone visiting and working at Expo 2020 Dubai is a priority every single day of the event, and our robust measures follow the latest guidance from the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and the World Health Organization.
Visitors must provide proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test to order to gain entry to the event. Expo also strongly encourages visitors to maintain social distancing.- Sanitisation stations are installed across the site and face-mask wearing is mandatory.. The site undergoes regular deep cleaning and also includes specialised medical facilities, including provisions for rapid COVID-19 testing.
The UAE has one of the world’s highest vaccination rates, with more than 20 million doses administered, as of October 2021. All Expo 2020 and International Participant staff, volunteers, contractors and service providers must be vaccinated.
Ethiopia ready to showcase its ancient past and future potential at Expo 2020 Dubai
Ethiopia has a platform to shine at Expo 2020 Dubai with millions of visitors expected to visit its pavilion during the event’s six-month long celebration of the best humanity has to offer.
Under the theme ‘Land of Origins and Opportunities’, the pavilion is showcasing the economic potential of Africa’s second most populous country and its ongoing role as a living hub driving and facilitating connections between the African continent and the world.
Throughout its history, Ethiopia has successfully maintained its originality, culture and values – all qualities that will be on display during the 182 days of Expo.
For the first time in the 170-year history of World Expos, every African nation will participate, each with its own pavilion, giving countries such as Ethiopia an unprecedented opportunity to engage in dialogues to overcome the common challenges facing humankind and forge new relationships with the rest of the world.
Visitors to the Ethiopia Pavilion will embark on a journey that begins — as humankind’s did — in a dim cave, where they will meet a replica of Lucy the oldest human fossil ever discovered. The discovery of the 3.2-million-year-old Australopithecus in 1974 rewrote the history of human evolution and earned Ethiopia the reputation of being the “cradle of humanity”.
After highlighting the country’s cultural richness, heritage, arts and ethnic diversity, the journey culminates in the vibrant present focussing on Ethiopia’s strengths in sectors such as agro-industry, manufacturing, mining and power generation. To cap off their journey, visitors will be welcomed to a classic Ethiopian coffee ceremony.
The first World Expo ever held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region has as its theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ based on the belief that innovation and progress are the result of people and ideas coming together in inspiring new ways.
The Ethiopia pavilion is situated in the Sustainability District, one of Expo 2020’s three Thematic Districts. Expo 2020’s subthemes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability go to the heart of Africa’s future aspirations: ensuring jobs, education and healthcare for all; offering easy and equitable access to transport and ideas; and balancing development with preserving the environment for future generations.
A total of 192 countries are taking part in a Expo 2020 – a 182-day celebration of breakthrough ideas, innovations and technologies that are shaping the future of our planet.
As one of many firsts at Expo 2020, the African Union hosts its own pavilion. The pavilion is a colourful arena devoid of national borders that will highlight the continent’s vast potential and ambitions, reflected in its Agenda 2063 aspirations that address agriculture, transport, science and technology, and health.
Visitors to Expo 2020 can enjoy the flavours of Africa at Alkebulan, a unique dining hall where seven of the world’s top African Chefs blaze a trail for the continent’s diverse cuisine. Ethiopian injera flat bread will feature at Shoebox Bakery by Mame Sow, which bills itself as the ultimate pan-African bakery experience, spanning both sweet and savoury items.
The youngest, fastest-growing continent on the planet is brimming with promise. How Africa embraces its accomplishments and overcomes its challenges – ranging from the global health pandemic to climate change, sustainable food supply, and equal access to the basic human rights of education, digitalisation and healthcare – will have enormous implications worldwide.
To help overcome these challenges Expo 2020 gives countries such as Ethiopia access to its Global Best Practice Programme which spotlights projects providing impactful, sustainable solutions to some of our biggest challenges. Among the projects being implemented in Ethiopia is the WADI Solar Powered Water Filtration project, which is providing low-cost, solar-based solutions to prevent water-borne diseases.
Another Expo 2020 initiative benefitting Ethiopia is Expo Live, a USD 100 million programme that supports projects offering creative solutions to urgent challenges that impact people’s lives, help preserve the planet – or both. In Ethiopia, Expo Live is funding a tele-medicine programme aimed at overcoming the shortage of medical specialists by helping local radiologists become trainers. The program is being implemented through Ver2, an UAE-based integrated digital medicine services company that uses intelligent computing to solve challenges in the delivery of healthcare.
Many of Expo’s participating nations are eager to widen and deepen their ties with Africa, and Expo 2020 is a global forum where countries such as Ethiopia can share their plans and achievements, seek investments and solutions to their challenges, as well as forge new relationships across the continent and across the globe.
Expo 2020’s Opening Ceremony on 30 September 2021 heralded the start of this incredible opportunity. From 1 October 2021, the UAE is jointly laying the foundations for a cleaner, safer, healthier and more prosperous tomorrow. The participation of Ethiopia and other African countries at Expo 2020 can only help bring that exciting, optimistic new future a big step closer.
