Your blackberry and mobile data in Addis Ababa
There are at least three ways to get mobile data in Ethiopia. They all require using an ETC sim-card (as far as I know, there are no data roaming agreements yet.)
EVDO
You can now buy an EVDO USB modem for about ETB 3000 (a bit less than US$300). There are two tarrifs – you can pay ETB 475 per month for up to 2GB download a month, or something astronomical for unlimited bandwidth.
The EVDO modem I have got does not take a SIM card – it has to be registered with ETC.
EVDO is much faster than the wired broadband internet available in Addis.
I haven’t worked out what happens when you reach your bandwidth cap – if you know, please tell us in the comments.
Mobile email using 3G
I am using a Nokia E71 for mobile email around Addis Ababa. My set up is:
- an unlocked Nokia E71
- a pay as you go 3G sim card from ETC (costs about ETB 300)
- RoadSync software to connect to my office Exchange Server
This means I am getting true “push” email – that is, new mail is pushed to my phone as they arrive. You can get the sim cards from ETC offices (eg in Edna Mall) or from a number of mobile phone shops around town (eg on Bole Road next to the New York Supermarket).
The 3G sim card uses the same scratch cards for credit top up as my mobile phone. The 3G data apparently costs ETB 0.20c per 1KB. I reckon I top up about ETB 100 Birr every two weeks.
Using Psiloc Connect reduces the data charge. It means that Roadsync accesses the data via wifi when there is a wifi signal available (we have wifi at home) and switches automatically to 3G when the wifi is out of range.
The setup for the 3G SIM card is:
- you need to dial 909 to register the SIM card
- the APN is “etc.com”
CDMA mobile data for laptops
Cheaper than EVDO with no monthly minimum fee, but much slower, is CDMA.
I have:
- a Huawei EC 325 CDMA data modem (costs about ETB 2300)
- a CDMA pay as you go SIM Card from ETC (costs about ETB 200)
- my normal laptop with a USB port.
The connection is not fast broadband; but the speed isn’t bad. It is about 5 times quicker than dialup. It is certainly good enough for checking email and surfing the web. But it isn’t as fast as EVDO.
To top up, you put the little earpiece into the modem to hear the call, then dial 903. Then choose 2, 1, 1, top up card number + #
The modem connection settings are:
Phone number: #777
Username: etc
password: etc
Moble data outside Addis Ababa
I have used my 3G phone and CDMA modems in Shashemane and in Awassa and they both worked well. A friend of mine reports that they work in Sodo too. I haven’t tried EVDO outside Addis Ababa yet.
There is no mobile data yet in Lalibela.
Please let me know in the comments if you find mobile data working anywhere else outside Addis.
Where to get the equipment or more advice
If you want detailed advice, speak to Enetie Bayabil, +251 (0)911 60 71 98. His shop is on Bole Road in the Getu Building, opposite the New York Supermarket (the place with the Statue of Liberty sign outside).
33 comments on “Your blackberry and mobile data in Addis Ababa”
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Hi there. I may relocate in Addis in the next months. I heard everything and its opposite when it comes to Internet access in Ethiopia. I currently connect on a GPRS in South Africa and the service is quite good though just a bit faster than dialup. Not costly at all. I will need to have more or less the same kind of access to update my website for expl.
You mention you have a Wifi connection at home. Is it easy to get a subscription ? Which one do you have ? thx a lot. R.
@Rami – wifi is very hard to get, and eye-wateringly expensive. I would stick to mobile data unless you are staying a long time.
Owen
Thx for your prompt answer. I may stay in AA for three years. What I would need is a reliable dial-up line at home, or (ideally a broadband connection home (512k or half of that will do). Do you have any idea of the costs ? I heard skype was forbidden. Are other VoIP applications (msn…) are possible to use ? If I am confirmed for AA I will definitely contact you for those issues and other ones, if it is OK with you. Best regards. R.
Great information, thanks for the post. My question is, can I purchase an unlocked Blackberry from the US and use it in Ethiopia? Will I get Blackberry push email if I get the ETC data plan? Also, what other phones can I buy besides the Nokia E71 that will allow for push email? Thanks
Joseph – I’m afraid I don’t know. I’ve never seen anyone successfully use a blackberry (as opposed to S60 or Windows Mobile based machine) here. My guess (and it is only a guess) is that if it works on a vanilla 3G internet connection, it should work here too. But when I put my ETC 3G SIM card into my friend’s US T-mobile blackberry recently, the blackberry said the SIM card was not recognised. I am not sure if the US blackberry was not 3G/GSM, or was locked to T-mobile, or what.
Fair enough, probably means it won’t work. Will any unlocked GSM smartphone work for push email?
Anyone know is IPhones work in AA?
Iphones work just fine with the ETC 3g sim card, but you will definitely have to unlock your iphone. This is fairly easy to do, just google iphone dev team, they made program called yellowsnow. But the CDMA option that Owen mentioned is definitely the cheaper way to go for internet connection as compared to the 3g, but still nice to have the 3g option.
I’ve got an unlocked Windows Mobile device that I plan to use with a ETC sim.
Do you know the network settings so that i can configure the mobile internet on the device before arriving?
I’m looking for AccessPoint address, username / password (if required).
Thanks
Owen replies: the settings are all in the blog post above.
Can I buy a USB data modem for my laptop here in the U.S. (say at BestBuy) and put an ETC SIM card in it in Ethiopia? What kind of device do I need to make sure to have? Is it a matter of making sure it’s “unlocked” as was mentioned above with mobile devices?
Owen replies: As far as I know you can use a generic CDMA modem with an ETC sim card. Also, my unlocked WDCMA (3G) phone is working fine with an ETC 3G sim card. The new EVDO modems don’t appear to have SIM cards, and I don’t know whether ETC would be able to register an imported one on their network.
Does anyone know the GSM/3G frequency used by ETN? I suspect a US iPhone won’t work with 3G, as AT&T uses non-standard frequencies.
Owen replies: I don’t know about frequencies, but a friend visiting from the US bought a 3G SIM card from ETC and it worked fine for both voice and data.
Can we use cdma cards less than 500birr for evdo service in ethiopia or is it have to be only 500birr cdma cards?
Owen replies: the EVDO modems all seem to have built-in SIM cards, not swappable SIMs. They have to be registered with ETC.
I will be travelling to AA next month and I’m hoping to journal back to my school in Canada. I would like to send pictures and video but am not sure
if this is a possibility due to the internet restrictions and capabilities. Does anyone have any suggestions what I should do. I’ll be there for 2 weeks and I will have a laptop. Do I go to an internet cafe?
The last time I checked this site was on July 4,2009 (http://www.owen.org/blog/2065). Internet connection is better now when compared to last year. EVDO is the only connection that’s reliable when compared to the others, and Dial up connection is almost impossible for tourists and I don’t recommend it to anyone. The CDMA connection isn’t that much reliable and is expensive for its poor performance. I recommend EVDO for anyone who is interested in a somewhat “fast” internet connection, videos and downloads will eat up the bandwidth limit and you may end up paying for additional fees(0.4 birr per megabite) if you pass the 2GB bandwidth limit. The 3G simcard for the phone is quite expensive too, so I advice anyone using it not to use your phone to browse websites that don’t have simplified pages for mobile phone browsing. @thomas, Internet Cafe’s have low speed connection so that won’t be possible, and since you will be staying for 2 weeks, I don’t know if subscribing for the EVDO plan is a good idea either(because you should buy the USB modem before you can use the EVDO service and that costs about 250 dollars alone).
i bought an EV-DO USB device a few months ago but i think i may have the wrong thing. a) it takes a sim card, which you said evdo devices do not have. b) i have to recharge it with the 903# like you were describing with the CDMA. what happened? everyone else who bought the same things seems to have much faster speeds. we bought it in the shop on the bottom floor of edna mall, and it came in an ev-do box with all the proper documents. did we really buy a CDMA? or am i using the evdo as a cdma and not know it. how do i connect to the evdo? how do i know and how do i get the ev-do with the subscription like you said?
Owen replies:
Andy: My guess is that you have bought a device that can do both EVDO and CDMA. (Lots of the ZTE devices can do both.) You need to register the EVDO part of the device with ETC (involves paying a modest fee to ETC) and then make sure you use the device as EVDO not CDMA – this may involve making sure you use the right software.
We may be moving to AA if all goes well. I work from home and need a solid internet line. Couple quick questions about the EVDO. How often does it drop? Is the speed the same as a DSL? What would the approx cost be? Is it possible to work out of one of the hotels for an extended period of time?
I appreciate any input or further information
Owen replies: The EVDO is dropping more and more, to the point where it is becoming frustrating. The speed is a bit quicker than the 512kbs ETC DSL line. It costs ETB 475 birr per month. I don’t think you could work out of the hotels for an extended period, but you certainly could for a while.
Does it drop a few times a week? Are there any other alternatives for the home user that provides the same speed?
Owen replies: more like a few times per hour. You can get DSL at home but it is expensive.
I will be travelling to Addis Ababa in a few weeks and I was wondering whether there are any data roaming options as yet. My cellphone provider here charges $50 for a 10MB roaming package which is really all I need. Please let me know what you have discovered.
Thanks!
Owen replies: I’m almost certain there is no data roaming yet. You’ll need a local SIM card.
My girlfriend has lost her cell phone in Addis. I want to buy her a blackberry to use over there, but I know that blackberry’s in Addis are around 500 us dollars. I can get them here for a 100. Can I purchase one here and send it to her to use there? If so what do I need to do to make it work there?
Owen replies: Chris – I don’t know. I am assuming “here” is the US, which of course has only partly adopted international standards (eg GSM) for mobile telephony and the network operators are allowed a lot of power to restrict the way that consumers use their devices. If you bought an unlocked GSM blackberry of the kind you can buy elsewhere then you could buy a local SIM card for it in Ethiopia. But that would cost you more than $100 (which would probably be a network-subsidized price).
HI,i have blackberry 7290.i have it unlocked and it is doing well. But i want to use is for internet where there is a wireless signal(eg, in addis ababa university campus). Is that possible?
pleas reply, Thanks
Jonny – are you getting blackberry push email and blackberry messenger to work? anyone else using an unlocked blackberry able to get your blackberry email on your phone with local Ethiopian sim card?
Owen – have you tried Skype calls from your E71 via 3G? Here is a link to skype for symbian phones http://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/symbian/#SymbianModels
I am considering buying an E71 if my blackberry won’t work in Addis. I will be there for 4-6 weeks and need to be able to communicate via email and phone back to the states.
Thanks
Mark – No way is Sk*pe going to work on the so-called 3G bandwidth, even if it were legal (which it isn’t) and even if it were not blocked (which it is).
You can’t even send an email using Gmail containing the word – your email will mysteriously not go.
Owen, could you please tell us more about the (i)legallity of skype in Ethiopia. I used it when I was there in June and November last year, while using my laptop and free wifi at the hotels where I was staying. I experienced no problems. Was I breaking some Ethiopian law in that way?
I may be moving to Addis for a longer period of time soon and would love to know if Skype will be an option for communicating with my family in Europe and West Africa (calling by phone on regular basis would be too expensive)
Thank you
Hi all,
I have a blackberry 9700 and browsing works perfectly both on 3G SIM or just on any other that has the possibility of GPRS connection. GPRS connection is free now in ADDIS but needs to be configured by Tele. In the blackberry I use Opera mini and have put in an APN: etc.com
However for push-email and blackberry messenger services there is no Blackberry Internet Service given by ETC which is absolutely required for these services. So the only thing I can do with my blackberry is just browse the web.
I’m going tomorrow to talk to a technician at ETC headquarters about this, maybe if he has a solution I will be happy to post it here.
Regards
Hi, I found reading your blog interesting and helpful Owen. I have just bought a ZTE USB modem here in Addis and finally managed to get it to work with my MacBook, there are two things that I am having problems with and wonder if anyone can give me some advice. I can’t work out how to top it up with the credit I have bought ( there is no visible earpiece/socket), also, every time i disconnect I loose all settings and have to start again each time i want to go online. Thanks
@zebz – to top up, use a normal mobile phone. You’ll need to know the number of your USB modem.
Call 903 on your normal mobile
for amharic 1, english 2
then press 1# (to recharge)
the enter the phone number of your modem, then #
press 1 to confirm that the phone number is correct
then enter the scratch card number from the top up card
Your settings problem depends what client software you are using to connect. I just use Windows network connections with my USB modem, and it works fine.
Owen
Thanks Owen, that was really helpful.
I hope you are enjoying Addis, my favourite city. If you get a chance, check out Addis Glow, a free monthly English language magazine that I run. You may find it interesting.
All the best, Zebz
Ps. The client software that I am using is the one that loads from the ZTE modem, I guess I’ll have to keep reloading until I find someone using a Mac who has found a solution. Anyway, thanks again.
Hello every body,
I have a brand new bb 9700 unlocked bought from Dubai and I am using a post paid sim card. My friends with post paid sim card are able to connect to internet (GPRS or Edge) with their “normal” phones; I have tried the configuration with APN etc.com but no results so Is it really possible with the bb?
I’ve understood that without bb data plan, there is no push email; but at least is it possible to get internet through wi-fi web browsing with a 3G sim card?
Please advise any option of having internet with bb…
Many Thanks
I have a good friend that lives in Ethiopia…not sure where abouts. He wants to be able to send photos from a blackberry to twitpic for his twitter account. He really does not care so much about the email or internet connection.
What limitations for twitpic or twitvids does ETC place on transmission of photos and video through MMS?
Thanks,
Marc
Owen replies: I’m pretty sure MMS does not work. He’ll need to put an ETC sim card in his blackberry (there is no international data roaming here) and use email for twitpic.
I am using a Nokia E72 and all going well with 3G and Edge connections. Ethio telecom set up is much important. But once done, push emails for Gmail, Ethionet, etc is all much possible. Browsing as well possible. One other subject – Skype is working as well and yes, I do remember having problems with Skype about a year or two ago but now ok.
Another thing is, when having to choose between using CDMA or EVDO, considering the following info:
- CDMA gets connected with speed much higher than dial-up but you are charged by the minute. So, if you are connected for an hour, you will be charged for that long.
- EVDO, much much faster than CDMA itself, equal to broadband connection. The thing here is, you can be connected for a whole day and you will only be charged for the amount you have uploaded or downloaded. For those interested in having long connection hours (office etc), you are likely better off with EVDO paying the monthly 465Birr than using CDMA.
Another thing, when topping up your CDMA/EVDO accounts, filling in the green card required for 0912xxx, 0913xxx mobile numbers also works but the per minute charge is much higher than usual. So get to fill in the CDMA refil cards that are meant for this purpose. That way, your per minute charge is lowered.
CDMA – works basically in all of North/East Ethiopian cities/towns. Following were locations I have used it : Debre Markos, Bahir Dar, Gondar, Axum, Mekele, Hawzien, Weldiya, Dessie,Debre Birhan, Logia, Semera, Awash, Harar, Dire Dawa. For South Ethiopia, I have worked with it in Mojo, Ziway, Awassa, Shashamane, Wolaita Sodo, Arbaminch, Yabelo, Dilla. Beyond that into the Omo Valley, it is not working yet.
EVDO – haven’t yet tested it outside Addis.
Mobile Internet on 3G and 2G connections works in almost all of North Ethiopia, including Lalibela (Lalibela where CDMA wasn’t working last I know). Harar, Awash and Dire Dawa area also have mobile internet. As for South, Ziway, Awassa, Wolaita Sodo, Arbaminch, Hosaina all have mobile internet coverage.
Osman
Osman
Hi Osman and/or Owen,
I am not sure I understand this part of Osman’s comment:
“Another thing, when topping up your CDMA/EVDO accounts, filling in the green card required for 0912xxx, 0913xxx mobile numbers also works but the per minute charge is much higher than usual. So get to fill in the CDMA refil cards that are meant for this purpose.”
Which ones are the CDMA refill cards? I have been using the green ones that I use for my phone as well (and I know there are the blue ones for phones as well). Are there refill cards especially for CDMA and, if yes, where do you get those?
Thanks, Nele
The refill cards especially for CDMA are blue ones similar to the blue moblie refill cards but this one has a phone apparatus picture on it and has the 75Birr value as indicated above.
Osman