(Ecofin Agency) - Ethio Telecom aims to be a key player in Ethiopia's digital transformation. The incumbent operator signed a smart city agreement with the administration of Addis Ababa in June 2023.

Ethio Telecom is set to launch a smart city project in Bahir Dar following the deployment of commercial 5G services. Yesterday, the state-owned company announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the city's mayor to move forward with this initiative.

The project, called Smart Bahir Dar, aims to provide digital solutions for municipal offices and integrate payments through Telebirr. Its implementation will be gradual and cover several aspects, including cloud development, call centers, data centers, high-capacity internet, fiber optic lines, and other essential digital infrastructure in key sectors like education, healthcare, agriculture, transportation, and tourism.

According to Ethio Telecom, the project will boost the city's competitiveness, making it more attractive for tourism and investment while enhancing social and economic benefits by simplifying business operations. The 5G technology could play a vital role in realizing this smart city. As early as 2021, the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) highlighted that 5G's ability to connect millions of devices per square kilometer, its ultra-low latency, and high data rates create optimal conditions for developing smart cities. 5G relies on a virtual and cloud-native architecture, which allows it to integrate more easily with technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and edge computing.

This initiative aligns with Ethio Telecom's three-year development strategy for 2022-2025. Through this strategy, the public company is committed to offering new solutions beyond connectivity and driving digital transformation in Ethiopia. The company has already signed smart city agreements with authorities in the capital, Addis Ababa, and the Oromia region. It has also made agreements to digitize services for several ministries and public administrations.