France Telecom Ethiopia run nears end

TELECOMS

The two year contract for France Telecom to run Ethio Telecom is nearing an end. France Telecom was appointed in December 2010 to manage the state-owned telco.

The management of the telco is expected to be handed back to staff next week.

Dr Debretsion Gebre Michael, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Information and Communication, is reported to have said the contract will not be extended.

During the past two years, Ethio Telecom subscribers have increased by 59% to pass the 18 million mark at the end of June this year. In their annual financial report, the management also noted that Ethio Telecom had launched 

• value added services (USSD codes, Call me Back, Credit Transfer, GPRS, Voicemail for postpaid), 
• postpaid mobile offer to residential customers with credit limit policy application
• prepaid bundle offer with Voice, SMS and data
• ADSL Service offer with CPE customer premise equipment for residential customers
• 3G services offer
• EVDO dongle package

With the objective of improving customer satisfaction, the company implemented 

• optimization of Call Center access through 994
• Call Center Quality of Service improvement, 980 success rate of 89% in June
• Customer Satisfaction surveys: call campaigns and proactive management
• Trouble Ticketing system for client management and resolution follow up
• Key Account consolidation through centralised invoicing and management
• Direct debit / Standing order with CBE/Commercial Bank of Ethiopia with main clients
• centralized collection for postpaid clients and credit limit management
• A Pilot Test of Sales Level Agreement (SLAs) for top clients was launched

More than 3,800 Ethio employees were trained in the past year.