Safaricom has started a large-scale customer pilot of its Ethiopian mobile network in Dire Dawa, a city in eastern Ethiopia, marking a significant step towards its planned national launch in October 2022.
Through the pilot, users in Dire Dawa can access 2G, 3G, and 4G connectivity. SIM cards on Safaricom Ethiopia’s 07 prefix are available at branded shops and local souks, with each purchase including a welcome offer of data, voice, and SMS for one month of testing.
Multilingual customer support
Three shops in the Kezira, Meskelegna, and Cornell areas have opened for customer registration, device purchases, and support. Customers can also reach call centre agents in Amharic, Afaan Oromo, Af-Somali, Tigrigna, and English by dialling 700.
City-by-city rollout
“We are excited to begin our customer pilot for Safaricom Ethiopia’s network and services in Dire Dawa. This is an important milestone as we begin opening the network to customers in order to test the end-to-end readiness of technical and commercial operations ahead of full network launch,” Anwar Soussa, CEO of Safaricom Ethiopia, said.
The pilot forms part of a phased city-by-city rollout across Ethiopia. Safaricom said it would share updates as the network and pilot extend to other regions ahead of the national launch.
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