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Gas and diesel in short supply; Broadband Internet down

In the past two days, shortages of gas and diesel in Addis Ababa has forced several service stations to shut down. Truck drivers are now waiting several hours in line to fill up diesel in those few stations that are still open.

The shortage occurred due to the disturbance at the Ethiopian border with Sudan last week. The local population and rebel forces, in coordination with some army units, have started to block roads and attack Sudanese army that is occupying lands that was given to Sudan by the Meles regime.

Rebel forces in the boarder area also cut fiber optics lines that come through Sudan. This has caused interruption of Internet connections to many government offices, embassies, NGOs and the prime minister’s offices.

The fiber optics lines are used for broadband (high speed) Internet service that the state-owned Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC) provides for 3,000 birr per month.

Woyanne Transportation and Telecommunications minister Junedin Sado sent technicians to the boarder area by military planes to fix the fiber optics lines.

Only embassies, government departments, some international NGOs and few very rich people are currently using the 3,000-birr-per-month broadband service. Internet service through telephone dial-up has not been affected.

11 thoughts on “Gas and diesel in short supply; Broadband Internet down

  1. Ethiopian Telecom is the most incompetent in world bar none. It is run by woyane aheyoche and hodamoche….they are embarasment to africa. Somalia run better telecom than this idiots. One day all of them running this organization will have to be brought to justice and charged for gross negligence and have to payback the $$$$$$ they flushing down the toilet …this is money that could be feeding the hungry…this is organization that has the largest anual budget…but no one knows where most of that money goes….in the last 17 years the telecom had budgeted and spent ‘5.89 Billion’ dollars..yes that is B as in leBoche….with all that budget major concern seem to be to monitor and tap people than to serve telecom.

    Demo cable is cut is what they say..wushetamoche…that is just a ruse…what proably happen is their incompitent techincians pulled the power cord on one of the switches and they don’t know how to fix it…now they will try to make it look like some one cut the cable….woshetam leboche….junedin and his henchmen must all go to jail…

  2. We remember food shortages in Ethiopia were the main reasons that brought down Emperor Haile Selassie from power, and who knows this time of the year that gas shortages in Addis Ababa may bring down dictator Meles Zenawi, and I hope as the gas shortages brought down the Internet in Addis Ababa, may those who are affected by these shortages bring down the Meles regime!

    One day shortages of Meles and his criminal gangs will shut down the looting of the Ethiopian money and the killings of the Ogaden and the Somali people.

  3. The story about “some army units” taking part in defending the border is news to me. Didn’t the Woyane government deny this fact, unless of course these “army units” are acting on their own against the orders of their Woyane commanders.

    If that is the case, the border issue might arouse the nationalism of the army (which has been lacking so far) and turn against the regime

  4. 3000 birr a month for broadband internet service?? come on elias, atleast make your stories believable. we are not that much disconnected from ethiopia to believe all your stories. a couple my friends in addis and nazret, who happen to use internet for small organization use don’t pay more than 200 birr per a month.

    you are off by 2800 per a month.

  5. Ethio do not write, specially with such certainty about things you do not know. ER is right. a year and half ago the monthly charge for broadband internet service was 3000 bir. i know this because i had paid for it.

  6. According to the information that I received this past weekend. Many people in Addis are exposed to a severe famine. Many people that make from $500 to $1000 birr a month can’t even afford to buy one decent meal per day, these people eat a loft of one small bread with tea either one or twice a day which costs $ 2 to $ 4 birr. To get a piece of one Injera with WET once a day has been a history for many of them. I mean in general life is getting worse as the days goes. In some areas of addis the daily and nightly lofting and rubbing has been increased. Many civilians life is under a huge threat in a daily basis. Most people especially women need an accompany to walk with them when ever they go. At the same time recently the weyane officials have gathered many weyane supporters and members that are ethnically tigrian in different parts of Addis to give them the necessary caution to defend them seleves if things goes bad on them. They have also given them self defensive weapons that can be carried in daily baisis. Some people have also been threatened by some weayene members in some areas when they hung out with their friends in local bars and restaurants. In general it’s very unbelievable to hear the daily disasters of Ethiopia. There is not going be a better time for Ethiopians in Diaspora to get our solidarity and fight weyane in order to resolve our problems.

  7. At this point situations are like dry tefe chide with one single spark of kibrite. There will be huge bone fire of woyane dem flowing thru the streets….we just need that kebret anytime

  8. Tariffs for Dial up Internet and Dedicated Internet Services

    1. Leased Line
    For 64kbs Initial Monthly
    ADSL 4,608 1,986
    BFWA – Data Only 7,267 2,458
    BFWA – Data + Voice 12,764 3,431
    For 128kbs
    ADSL 7,533 3,140
    BFWA – Data Only 10,193 3,612
    BFWA – Data + Voice 15,689 4,585
    For 256 kbs
    ADSL 13,925 6,096
    BFWA – Data Only 16,584 6,567
    BFWA – Data + Voice 22,081 7,541
    For 384kbs
    ADSL 20,316 9,052
    BFWA – Data Only 22,976 9,523
    BFWA – Data + Voice 28,472 10,497
    For 512kbs
    ADSL 26,708 12,008
    BFWA – Data Only 29,367 12,479
    BFWA – Data + Voice 34,864 13,453
    For 768 kb
    ADSL 39,491 17,920
    BFWA – Data Only 42,150 18,391
    BFWA – Data + Voice 47,647 19,365
    For 1Mb
    ADSL 52,274 23,832
    BFWA – Data Only 54,933 24,303
    BFWA – Data + Voice 60,430 25,277
    For 2Mb
    ADSL 103,406 41,479
    BFWA – Data Only 106,066 47,950
    BFWA – Data + Voice 111,562 48,924
    2. Shared DSL
    Coming Soon!!

    3. Dial Up service

    Tariff adjustment made on Dial-Up Internet Services

    Installation fee
    Birr 156.00

    Monthly fee rent (inclusive of 900 minutes free service)
    Birr 60.00

    Service fee (Over 900 minutes of service)
    Birr 0.04 per minute (including 6 p.m in the evening up to 8 a.m in the morning, working days, holidays, Saturdays and Sundays)

    Birr 0.07 per minute (including 8 a.m in the morning up to 6 p.m in the evening and working days)

    4. Others

    For each additional E-mail box Birr 20.00 per Month
    Hard disk rent for :
    HTML files

    Audio/Video and Database files

    Birr 17.00 per MB

    Birr 42.00 per MB

    Domain Name Registration:
    Setup fee

    Domain name rent

    Birr 418.00

    Birr 500.00 per Year

    Uploading fee 25 birr/file
    Monthly charge for one IP Address Birr 18.00

    Monthly charge for virtual IP Address Birr 4.00

    Click here for web designing, hosting and domain name registration tariffs.

    For more information please contact:
    Internet Marketing Office:
    Tel. 51-49-53/53-56-66 E-mail: [email protected]

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    For comments and suggestions please send mail to: [email protected]

    This page is last updated November 16, 2005

    Copyright© 1998 Ethiopian Telecommunications Corp. All rights reserved!
    Ethio please read it.

  9. I told you ETC in its current state is maned by morons – woyane morons….”Uploading fee 25 birr/file” they are shamles in some of this charges…uploading fee what a joke….enegnhen aheyoche wode dedebit mazeware is the solushin…

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