# SMS pricing in Ethiopia

> SMS to Ethiopia costs from $0.052 per message (indicative list rate, reviewed 2026-09-24) over 2 direct operators (Ethio Telecom, Safaricom Ethiopia); sender IDs are registered with the ECA in 10-14 business days.

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

Indicative A2P SMS list rates per message, reviewed 2026-09-24. Regulator: ECA.

## Rates by operator

| Operator | Rate (USD) | Send window |
|---|---|---|
| Ethio Telecom | $0.0542 | — |
| Safaricom Ethiopia | $0.0520 | — |

## Market facts

- Regulator: Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA)
- 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
- Mobile subscribers: 75M
- Dialling code · MCC: +251 / 636
- Billing currencies: USD
- Published SMS band: USD 0.04 – 0.07

## Sender-ID rules

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

## SMS to Ethiopia: common questions

### Which operators carry SMS to Ethiopia, and at what rate?

BroadNet sends over 2 routes (Ethio Telecom, Safaricom Ethiopia). The lowest indicative list rate is $0.052 per message, reviewed 2026-09-24; volume tiers lower it automatically from 100K messages a month.

### What does the SMS price include?

Each segment is billed once: a message longer than 160 GSM-7 characters is split into segments. Delivery receipts are included with no per-receipt fee, there is no setup fee, and sender-ID registration is passed through at cost.

### Do I need to register a sender ID in Ethiopia?

Yes. Sender IDs are registered with the ECA; typical lead time: 10-14 business days. BroadNet handles the registration during onboarding.

### How do I get test access for Ethiopia?

Request test access from this page; we reply within one business day. Live in 11–19 business days from test-access request to production (set by the sender-ID lead time).

Coverage and sender-ID rules: https://www.broadnet.me/coverage/ethiopia