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September 3, 2006

Sim cards and cell phones

Something is going right, slowly, at Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation.

Two years ago, I needed a letter from the Ministry of Information to help me jump to the front of the rumoured two-year waiting list for a sim card. (Journalists got priority.)

The first time I lost my phone, I had to spend hours searching for the original toilet-paper-thin registration documents before presenting them to the right window at the right office at the right time of day before getting a replacement sim card. For some reason, I also felt I had to apologise to every official I met along the way for my forgetfulness.

The second time I lost my phone - last week, I just showed up at the tele office near the train station, told them my number, showed my ID, paid 25 birr and got a new card on the spot.

When I went to buy my third minimalist Ethiopian handset, the assistant told me she could have also sold me a sim card as well.

All that and broadband around the corner as well. Exciting days.

Posted by aheavens at September 3, 2006 7:06 AM