An interesting article by the Ethiopian Reporter's Abiy Solomon looks at the growth of mobile telephony in Ethiopia.

"During the first few years of its introduction, it was considered to be an equipment of luxury that only the well-to-do are privileged to possess," Solomon writes. "But as time went by, the number of cell phone owners continued to increase. Various and fashionable cell phone apparatuses came out. These days, at least in the major towns, most people own cell phones."

But basic politeness, Solomon says, has made mobile phones expensive for Ethiopians. "The greeting at the start of a conversation takes at least more than three or four minutes -- questions about health, children, family, job and so on are inevitable discourses during our greeting session," he writes. "[But] telephone conversations should be short, precise and to the point."