How to Get Your Internet Setup in Addis Ababa

Updated 21 August (with internet renewal information)

As a farangi newly arrived in Addis, one of the most important things to get figured out is your internet.   In Ethiopia there's currently a state monopoly on telecommuncations--meaning you have to go through EthioTelecom for all your cell phone and internet needs.  There's talk of this sector being opened up for private investment in the next year but let's not hold our breaths. Ideally, privatization will bring competition, innovation, efficiency, and lower prices--just like in the United States right? I mean everyone loves their cable and internet providers there right?

With a little preparation, however, you can set yourself up for success by bringing the right equipment with you.  There is ADSL here, but it's pretty slow and expensive compared to the mobile 4G/LTE option now available.

NOTE: No matter which option you choose you won't be able to overcome the nation-wide internet blackouts that occur for a variety of reasons that are the subject of much debate.  Let's stack that up to the growing pains associated with the current welcome political liberalization.  

THE GOODS:

Below I've listed the router and associated equipment that you should bring with you (kudos to my colleagues who passed me this info ahead of time)!  Most likely you'll need to create a fairly robust mesh network to get solid internet throughout your home given that most homes have solid concrete walls.

Once you arrive in country, take your unlocked phone, router, passport (they'll want to see it), and 3000 birr (about $100 currently) to an EthioTelecom store (they'll show up when you search for them on google maps). Show them the sim card slot on the router so they give you the right size card.  Plug it in before you leave and make sure it works. The whole process will be much easier if you also get your phone activated while you are there. Before you arrive in country, go ahead and download the Google WIFI app and make sure your phone is unlocked. NOTE: Supposedly you can only get one phone activated per passport.

EthioTelecom currently offers a 1900 birr ($70) unlimited internet monthly special for your router which is a great deal.  We've been streaming shows on Netflix and Amazon with minimal issues (bring an Amazon firestick in your checked bag).

HOWEVER, you have to go in every month to renew your subscription BUT you also have to recharge the router sim card (for 30 birr a month).  If you don't do this, then your router won't work.  You can recharge the sim card with a scratch off card. 

Here's the code to recharge your sim card: *805*scratch card number*sim card number (this is the service number from your sales invoice)#DIAL

Supposedly a workaround so you don't have to do this is tell the EthioTelecom clerk (if they speak English) that you want to do a "Post Paid" account.  This means you give them a 250 birr deposit, then pay the 1900 for unlimited 4G internet. So then you shouldn't need to do the scratch card voodoo dance.

Sim Card Router ($200):  At the bottom of this post are two other recommended routers.
Huawei B525s-23a Unlocked 4G/LTE CPE 300 Mbps Mobile Wi-Fi Router (3G/4G LTE in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa)



Router Antennae ($35): Proxicast 3G/4G/LTE Universal Wide Band 5 dBi Omni-Directional Paddle Antenna for Cisco, Cradlepoint, Digi, Pepwave, Sierra Wireless and Many Others (2 Pack) There's a panel you pop off on the back of the router (which isn't shown in the listing) where you can screw in the antennae.




The Mesh Network ($256) (Google WiFi system, 3-Pack - Router replacement for whole home coverage).  You will directly connect one of pucks via a wire to your router.  The other pucks you will scatter throughout your house.  All of this will be setup and integrated via the Google Wifi App on your phone.



Other recommended routers:

Netgear Unite Explore 4G LTE Mobile WiFi Hotspot           $198.00
https://www.amazon.com/Netgear-Explore-Rugged-Hotspot-Unlocked/dp/B06XR6NRYX

 NetGear Nighthawk M1 Mobile Hotspot Router (MR1100) – with Ethernet port   $249.99
https://www.amazon.com/Netgear-Nighthawk-MR1100-GSM-Unlocked/dp/B07G5KWZ3H

This Evening I Can Write the Saddest Lines (Cape St. Claire Edition)

I wrote this poem after the last boxes were packed up from our home in Annapolis and as I contemplated the past three years we spent here. I wonder what my feelings will be a few years from now when we leave Addis Ababa.

 

This evening I can write the saddest lines

Write, for example, “One day my children

will no longer create art for me.”

The Magothy river breeze pushes through our yard and sings.

This evening I can write the saddest lines

I loved our years here and they are gone forever

Through evenings like this one, my children bounced in our trampoline
How I loved to hear their squeals of delight.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines
To think that I have lost this, to feel that it is gone.

To hear the echoes in our empty home, still emptier without them
And the verse falls to my soul, like the sun setting in our backyard

What does it matter that our love did not keep us here
The house is empty and they are not with me.

This is all. In the distance children yell and play. In this distance
My soul is not satisfied that we are leaving.

My mind tries to freeze and frame these memories
My heart aches for them but they are not with me.

The same dusk kisses yellow upon the leaves of our walnut tree
We of these years are no longer the same

I no longer live here, that’s certain, but how I loved it
My heart searched the halls for a way to make us stay

Another. Another home will be ours. Like this one that poured loved into our lives.
New halls, new kitchens, new laughter, new tears, new love.

Because through evenings like this one, I held my children in my arms
Because through nights like this one, I kissed my beloved’s lips,
Our eyes searching into each other.
My soul is satisfied that we have our family.

Though more moves may make me suffer
And these the last verses I write for our home in Cape St. Claire.