Telecoms: Beijing ousted from the 5G market in Ethiopia
Audio 04:07
Ethiopia has launched a vast project to liberalize its telecoms sector.
(illustrative image) © AFP / Christophe Archambault
By: Aabla Jounaïdi Follow
9 mins
This is a new front in the war of technological influence between China and the United States.
Ethiopia, launched in a vast project to liberalize its telecoms sector, on Saturday entrusted the construction of its 4G and 5G networks to an industrial consortium supported by Washington.
Opposite, it is the defeat of another consortium financed by Chinese institutions.
In one country, Ethiopia, where, however, China seemed to dominate the economic landscape, especially infrastructure.
Publicity
Over the past twenty years, it is to China that Ethiopia, like many other African countries, has entrusted the task of developing, and also financing, its infrastructure.
Between 2000 and 2018, it was not far from $ 14 billion that was loaned by Chinese financial institutions to Ethiopia.
A large part is devoted to projects by Chinese telecom giants ZTE and Huawei.
But this time around, the consortium led by South African giant MTN, backed by Chinese equipment manufacturers and funders, lost.
What happened to make the competitors win?
This is because the consortium led by the Vodacom group, a subsidiary of the British Vodafone, has also benefited from significant support.
To invest the 8.5 billion dollars needed to develop 4G networks and 5G in the next ten years, he turned to the
Development Finance Corporation
(DFC): this very young agency of the US State Department [ it was born at the end of 2019] finances development projects in low-income countries.
Under the impetus of the previous administration, that of Donald Trump, this agency worked double to achieve one goal: to counter China on 5G.
How does she do it?
By injecting as much money as possible to dissuade states from resorting to Chinese technology. As we know, if States are turning to China to finance their telecom infrastructures, it is because this technology is efficient but also less expensive. The idea is therefore to offer advantageous financing solutions to States in order to enable them to afford alternative solutions to ZTE and Huawei. In the Ethiopian case, the agency announced support for the project led by Vodacom to the tune of $ 500 million. This opens the door to non-Chinese equipment manufacturers like Ericsson, Nokia or Samsung. Another important element: in a context of bloody conflict in Tigray, the American diplomatic pressure on the Ethiopian ally is maximum at the moment. Last Friday,just before the Ethiopian regulator's decision, the development agency stressed the attention it paid to the humanitarian situation in this region.
Aggressive diplomacy that we also see at work outside Africa
Especially outside of Africa, a continent where, after all, Chinese technology dominates.
To exclude the Chinese from the markets, the development agency - which has become almost the armed wing of the State Department - is sending out a clear message: Chinese 5G threatens the security of user data and democracy.
It is in Europe that the United States has focused its efforts from the start.
With some success and debates still ongoing, especially in the United Kingdom.
The American Congress has just voted in principle for an extension to the “DFC” to help the countries of Eastern Europe to develop their infrastructures free from “
Chinese authoritarianism
”.
It will be interesting to see what will be the outcome of the debates in Brazil.
In this vast market, American pressure is strong to ban Huawei.
But China is the main trading partner there.
The Brazilian regulator was due to decide next month which operators can compete for licenses for 5G.
His decision was postponed until July.
In short
► Tunisia, in a hurry to do business again with Libya.
Thanks to the political clarification, a business forum has opened in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, until tomorrow.
The Tunisian Prime Minister inaugurated it this weekend with a large political and business delegation.
The stake is immense for the Tunisian neighbor: cross-border exchanges provide a living for hundreds of thousands of people.
And in the vast project of Libyan reconstruction, Tunis also hopes to take advantage of its immediate proximity to Tripoli.
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
China
United States
Telecom
Tunisia
Libya
Ethiopia