Radio in Ethiopia was introduced during Emperor Haile Selassie regime in 1933 where the first radio station was built in 1931. On 31 January 1935, with assistance of the Italian contractor firm Ansaldo, the largest and more powerful station was built and the Emperor delivered the first speech in the broadcast.
The modern radio transmission was installed by the U.S donation of 2.5 million dollars in 1957, to install ten-kilowatt short-wave transmitter at the Jimma Road and launched in 1960. The Radio Voice of Gospel began operating in 1964 specifically with Christian preaching in Addis Ababa, whereas the Radio Ethiopia was served as the main propaganda tool for the imperial government. By the 1970s, some circulars had been banned from reporting sensitive issues in accordance with the 1955 Constitution Promulgation.
Today, there are 3 main stations in Addis Ababa with 100 kilowatts, Harar with 100 watts and Asmara in 50 watts stations. They broadcast in Amharic, Afan Oromo, English, Afar, Arabic, Somali and French.