Nairobi — Safaricom has expanded its network coverage in Ethiopia, with a recent large-scale customer pilot in Bahir Dar and Adama cities.
The two cities are the fourth and fifth the telco is carrying out a pilot test in after Dire Dawa, Harar and recently in Haramaya in Oromia region.
The customer pilots in Bahir Dar and Adama cities is part of Safaricom's city-by-city regional network roll-out as it intends to switch its network and services in 25 cities in Ethiopia by April 2023 even as it gears toward the national launch in October.
Safaricom Ethiopia intends to achieve this by working in partnership with government, businesses and local communities among other stakeholders as part of its long-term commitment to transforming lives for a digital future which is in line with the Digital Ethiopia Objectives.
"Our phased city-by-city customer trials are now growing to Central and Northern Ethiopia with more cities to follow, after the network rollout in Eastern Ethiopia over the past couple of weeks. The pilots in Bahir Dar and Adama allow us to continue rigorous service tests in Amhara and Oromia regions, looking forward to our national launch in October 2022 and servicing all of Ethiopia," said Anwar Soussa, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Safaricom Ethiopia.
He further appreciated the Ethiopian government, the mayors of Bahir Dar and Adama cities, the Ethiopian Communications Authority, and all the stakeholders involved for supporting the test network in the two cities.
The test network in Bahir and Adama cities will also enable subscribers to use data services, make calls and send SMS to Safaricom Ethiopia and Ethio Telecom customers and international calls worldwide.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Moreover, new customers will be able to actively register on the network, purchase airtime vouchers and devices as well as access dedicated customer support at the branded shops as well as all branded souks in the cities.
The two cities will have a total of 6 branded shops that will be open to serve customers, four in Bahir Dar and two in Adama.
Customers in Bahir and Adama cities will have an opportunity to choose their preferred numbers on Safaricom Ethiopia 07 prefix on the purchase of SIM cards which comes with a welcome offer of data, voice and SMS for one month.
In addition to that, they will have an option of accessing customer care services from the call centre in Amharic, Afaan Oromo, Af-Somali, Tigrigna or English by dialing 700 to talk to the customer experience agents.
