The cost of communication with Ethiopia from the States varies greatly: a minute through a mobile operator can cost several times more than through a VoIP service, and instant messengers work for free, but only with a stable Internet connection on both sides. We have compared five common options to make a call Ethiopia from US without overpayments and interruptions.
How to dial a number correctly
A dialing error remains the most common reason why a call does not go through. An international number from an American phone consists of four parts:
1. 011. The code for the exit to the international line from the USA, you can dial "+" from your smartphone instead.
2. 251. Telephone code of Ethiopia.
3. Area code or operator. For landline numbers in Addis Ababa, it is 11, mobile numbers start with 9 or 7.
4. Subscriber's number. It is dialed without the leading zero, which is used only for calls within the country.
For example, the mobile number 0911 234 567 from the United States is dialed as 011 251 911 234 567. Take into account the time difference: Ethiopia lives on UTC+3 without changing clocks and is ahead of New York by 7 hours in summer and 8 hours in winter.
Top 5 ways to contact
The options are evaluated according to three parameters: what the interlocutor will need, how much a minute costs and how stable the connection is. Places in the rating are distributed according to the ratio of price and reliability.
|
№ |
Method |
Internet at the interlocutor |
Cost |
Features |
|
1 |
VoIP service with calls to
Rooms |
Not needed |
Low, minute-by-minute |
Dialing to any numbers |
|
2 |
Messengers: WhatsApp,
Telegram, Viber |
Needed |
Free, as part of traffic |
Quality depends on the network in
region |
|
3 |
International Package
U.S. Operator |
Not needed |
Medium, by tariff |
Profitable only with
enabled option |
|
4 |
Phone card |
Not needed |
Low |
You need to dial a number
access and PIN |
|
5 |
Direct call without a package |
Not needed |
High |
The simplest and the most
Expensive option |
The leader of the rating wins due to the balance: a regular phone is enough for the interlocutor, and the tariff is noticeably lower than the operator's. If relatives live far from large cities where mobile Internet is unstable, it is more reliable to call Ethiopia via VoIP to a number than through a messenger.
Which option to choose
The appropriate method depends on how often you call and what phone number the interlocutor uses:
• For regular conversations with relatives who have good Internet, a messenger is enough.
• If the interlocutor uses a push-button phone or lives in a rural area, choose a VoIP call to the number.
• It is more convenient for business partners to call a landline number through a service with a per-minute payment.
• For those who call rarely and do not want to install applications, a package of international minutes from the operator is suitable.
Before choosing, compare tariffs for Ethiopian mobile numbers: many services have noticeably higher rates than landline ones.
Common mistakes when calling
Even with a well-chosen method, the connection is sometimes broken due to trifles. Most often, callers:
– leave a zero after the country code;
– they forget about the time difference;
– call without an international package;
– do not check the balance of the card before the conversation.
Check these points before calling, and the call to Ethiopia will go through on the first try.
Final thoughts
For most callers, a combination of a messenger for everyday communication and a VoIP service for calls to regular numbers is suitable. This approach saves budget and maintains communication even where mobile Internet works intermittently.