Morocco's telecommunications sector booming

2008-07-02

The telecommunications sector in Morocco is growing strongly, benefitting from liberalisation in the industry and the increased use of mobile telephones and the internet.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 02/07/08

[Jamel Arfaoui] Although the increase in internet use falls behind that in telephony, Morocco's telecommunications sector is growing full throttle.

Ten years after the beginning of liberalisation in Morocco's telecommunications sector, indicators for the industry are all green. Business has increased rapidly over these ten years, although telephony and internet are not developing at the same pace. Turnover has surged from 8.5 billion dirhams in 1999 to 30 billion in 2007, equivalent to more than 7% of gross domestic product (GDP).

Liberalisation – a process undertaken ten years ago in the telecommunications sector – has made it possible to transition from a monopoly to a competitive market, and has helped Morocco become a regional leader in the industry.

According to Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, the sector is booming. "It has allowed the creation of 37,000 direct jobs and around 120,000 indirect jobs and represents half of the direct foreign investment made over the past five years," he said.

The number of landline subscribers reached 2,393,767 in 2007, compared with 1,266,119 subscribers in 2006 – an increase of 89%. Competition between the three private operators has had a beneficial effect on prices. The number of fixed residential lines has increased 136% during the same period. For mobile telephone subscribers, the number has increased from 16,004,731 in 2006 to some 20,029,030 by the end of 2007, an annual increase of 25%.

Despite the developments, telephony remains in its earliest stages, according to Azdine El Mountassir Billah, Director-General of the National Agency for Telecommunications Regulation (ANRT).

"All sectors in the economy are turning to the new technologies," he said. "Potential for development in the sector is still considerable."

Internet use has also increased, but not enough, the ANRT says. The number of ADSL subscribers is increasing constantly, with an annual growth rate of 57.6% in 2006 and 21.9% in 2007, but there are just 600,000 internet subscribers and 6 million internet users in total. Despite a population of more than 33 million, only 7,000 internet cafés are found in Morocco.

The problems encountered in the development of the internet come in a number of forms, El Mountassir Billah has said.

"I think the most important obstacle relates to a problem with content. This still falls short of what it is needed," El Mountassir Billah told reporters. "When an internet user is offered a number of online services, internet access will grow at practically the same rate as mobile telephone use. The sector requires some massive investment."

Although a good many Moroccans have fears over the security of their personal data on the net, El Mountassir Billah is keen to reassure them.

"The ANRT will work to narrow the digital gap," he said, "to encourage the development of support content, to protect people's private lives and to instil digital confidence to support electronic certification, business and the Administration."