Its primary objective is to promote the development of high quality, efficient, reliable and affordable communications services in Ethiopia.

The introduction of telecommunication service in Ethiopia dated back during the reign of Emperor Menelik II in 1894.

He introduced telephony while his cousin, Ras Mekonnen pioneered the first telephone after visiting Italy and returned to Ethiopia and established his company.

In early 20th century, the company was under the control of the government and later brought to Ministry of Post and Communications.

In 2005, ETC installed fiber optic backbone that spans 4,000 km in six radiating directions: from Addis Ababa, to Dire Dawa, Djibouti, Dessie-Mekelle, Bahir Dar-Nekemte, Jimma and Hawassa, delivering digital radio and television, internet and other multimedia services.