08 November 2019

The nation’s telecom sector has been supported by the government’s Maroc Digital 2020 strategy to encourage the development of a digital economy and on the National Broadband Plan

Morocco is now one of the most advanced telecom markets in Africa, according to a report by ResearchAndMarkets.com – “Morocco – Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband – Statistics and Analyses”.

It said the north African nation’s telecom sector has been supported by the government’s Maroc Digital 2020 strategy to encourage the development of a digital economy and on the National Broadband Plan. It aims to provide fixed or mobile broadband access to the entire population by 2022.

The part-privatised incumbent telco Maroc Telecom is still the dominant player in the fixed-line sector, though it has effective competition in the mobile sector.

The report further notes that French giant Orange Group, a key regional player, entered the market through the acquisition of a major stake in the telco Mdi Telecom.

Despite regulatory efforts to enforce local loop unbundling (LLU) and wholesale pricing, there is little in the way of access to its networks and as a result, the fixed-line broadband market has not developed to its potential.

That has only helped Maroc Telecom remain the dominant fixed-line broadband player.

Nevertheless, a small number of operators, including Inwi and Orange Morocco are now offering competing DSL services, albeit with limited reach.

However, despite these market limitations and Maroc Telecom’s near-monopoly, the report found that Morocco has some of the lowest broadband prices and highest penetration rates in Africa and that this has been helped by the decent connectivity to international fibre cables.