# A2P SMS, OTP, and sender ID rules in Ethiopia

> BroadNet delivers A2P SMS and OTP in Ethiopia over direct connections to Ethio Telecom and Safaricom Ethiopia, with ECA sender ID registration in 10-14 business days.

- Canonical URL: https://www.broadnet.me/coverage/ethiopia
- Language: en
- Last updated: 2026-10-21
- Publisher: BroadNet (https://www.broadnet.me)

Operator-direct termination into Ethio Telecom and Safaricom Ethiopia with ECA-aligned sender ID registration.

## Key facts

- Regulator: ECA (Ethiopian Communications Authority)
- Dialling code: +251
- MCC: 636
- Mobile subscribers: 75M
- Sender-ID lead time: 10-14 business days
- Time to launch: Live in 11–19 business days from test-access request to production (set by the sender-ID lead time)
- Typical OTP latency: 3.7 s
- Typical delivery rate, operator-direct: 98.6%
- SMS price band: USD 0.04 – 0.07 (indicative list rates, reviewed 2026-09-24)
- Billing currencies: USD

## Operators

| Operator | MNC | Route | Grade | A2P rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethio Telecom | 636-01 | Direct | A+ | USD 0.0542 |
| Safaricom Ethiopia | 636-02 | Direct | A | USD 0.052 |

## Technical facts for Ethiopia

Network codes, message lengths and sender-ID rules in one table. Segment lengths are the GSM standard values (3GPP TS 23.038).

| Technical facts | |
|---|---|
| Mobile country code (MCC) | 636 |
| Dialling code | +251 |
| Operators (MCC-MNC) | Ethio Telecom · 636-01; Safaricom Ethiopia · 636-02 |
| SMS length, GSM-7 (Latin alphabet) | 160 characters in a single SMS; 153 per part when concatenated |
| SMS length, UCS-2 (Arabic, Cyrillic and other scripts) | 70 characters in a single SMS; 67 per part when concatenated |
| Regulator | ECA (Ethiopian Communications Authority) |
| Sender-ID rules | Sender IDs registered through Ethio Telecom (and now Safaricom Ethiopia). Amharic and English supported. |
| Sender-ID lead time | 10-14 business days |

## Pricing

| Band | Transactional | Promotional | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go | USD 0.052 | USD 0.062 | List rate up to 100K messages/month |
| Growth · 100K+ | USD 0.0458 | USD 0.055 | Auto-tier discount |
| Volume · 1M+ | USD 0.0385 | USD 0.0462 | Includes quarterly route review |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Direct operator pricing + signed SLA |

## Sender ID

Sender IDs registered through Ethio Telecom (and now Safaricom Ethiopia). Amharic and English supported.

Operator-direct sender ID registration: 10-14 business days.

## Rules

- **ECA sender ID**: Sender IDs via Ethio + Safaricom Ethiopia operator routes.
- **Amharic + English**: UCS-2 routes carry Amharic natively.
- **Cross-border**: Data residency restrictions — local entity recommended.
- **Operator firewall**: Strict firewall on grey routes.

## Compliance

Recently liberalised market (Safaricom Ethiopia launched 2022). Cross-border data restrictions; local entity recommended for direct billing.

## Sample A2P template

```text
Your code is 619204. Valid 5 minutes.
```

Amharic:

```text
የእርስዎ ኮድ 619204 ነው።
```

## Related

- https://www.broadnet.me/regulations/ethiopia
- https://www.broadnet.me/pricing/sms/ethiopia