Ethio telecom, the state telecom giant, has begun the process of replacing its business support system, which manages customer and billing information. The new components will enable the company to host 80 million customers, 15pc more than its existing capacity.

The new business support system, which industry experts call ''the heart of the telecom operators' business,'' will replace the seven-year-old existing system that has the capacity to accommodate 68 million subscribers. It enables the company to gain customer insight, compile real-time subscriptions and introduce new revenue-generating streams.

For the replacement of the components, the management of the company is currently negotiating with suppliers, according to CEO Frehiwot Tamiru.

The company is changing the system to break into a competitive industry that is in the process of liberalisation as well as replacing the software that has already reached the end of its useful life. The hardware of the system will also complete its lifetime this coming December.

"It's about our survival," said Frehiwot. "Even a telecom operator with 100pc coverage is nothing with an outdated business support system."

Business support systems incorporate different segments including customer relationship management (CRM); billing; product management to offer cross-product discounts, pricing and managing products related to one another; and order management.

The existing system was installed during the Telecom Expansion Project (TEP) that was launched in 2013 through vendor financing. TEP included improving network service quality, increasing coverage and capacity on mobile service, building infrastructure with the latest technology and enhancing the information system domain of the company.

Along with replacing the business support system, the company is working on network and infrastructure expansion. It is expanding the wireless, fixed-line, power and transport network infrastructures. The expansion is expected to enable the company to host an additional 5.2 million new customers.

"It will enable us to be compete in the market," said Frehiwot, "and generate revenue by leasing and renting infrastructure to companies that join the sector."

Ethio telecom is also in the process of building 842 new tower sites in the country. Of these, 150 will be installed in the capital to expand the advanced 4G network. The towers will be added to the existing 7,100 towers. It also targeted the installation of 400Km of metro fibre and 2,000Km of backbone fiber-optic cable. Currently, Ethio telecom owns 23,000Km of fiber-optic cable.

The company is working on the expansion of the broadband network, intending to expand its customer base by 215pc to 669,400 users. For this, it is upgrading and swapping 910 multi-service access gateways (MSAG), devises that connect customers' telephone lines to the core network to provide telephone and broadband services. It is also installing 202 new MSAG devices.

It is good that the company did not sit and wait until the government completes the liberalisation process, according to Dawit Bekele (PhD), regional vice president for Africa at the Internet Society, a nonprofit organisation.