In Ethiopia, the government will soon migrate toward the national backbone to take advantage of the enhanced internet capabilities necessary for its E-government services.

The innovation and technology minister Getahun Mekuria (photo) announced this on January 22, 2019, during a workshop organized in Addis Ababa on investments made by the country to improve its national telecom infrastructure. The new backbone toward which the government will migrate will replace WoredaNet which is no more suited for the government’s internet needs.

Currently, WoredaNet interconnects 9 regions, 2 administrative towns, 950 Woredas (districts) and other sites. Getahun Mekuria explained that built in 2007, its connection is now slow. It only offers a 50 Gbps internet capability while the new backbone will allow more than that.

Apart from improving its E-government services, the enhanced internet the government will have access to will also boost the capabilities of the national data centre.

With quality data capabilities, the various government institutions can efficiently answer users’ requests, improve the efficiency of public services and contribute to economic growth.