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The National Agency for Telecommunications Regulations (ANRT) has released figures on mobile phone and internet usage in Morocco during the first three months of 2019.
The report shows Maroc Telecom remains the leading phone and internet connection provider in Morocco, with a 43.08% market share. Orange comes next with a 34.78% market share, then Inwi with 22.14%.
According to ANRT, the total number of mobile connections across all three service providers at the end of March 2019 was 44.73 million. This figure takes into account all mobile phone clients (prepaid and postpaid) who were “active” during the three month period. The number is greater than Morocco’s total population of approximately 36 million as some people and companies will have multiple mobile connection contracts.
Prepaid mobile connections remain by far the most popular amongst Moroccan clients. Approximately 40.6 million clients were prepaid, whereas only 4.13 million were postpaid. Postpaid connections increased, however, by 20% since last year, indicating a shift in Morocco’s preferences since last year towards postpaid contracts.
Clients across the three mobile providers consumed, on average, 103 minutes per client of call data during March.
Read also: Moroccan Government to Sell Shares in Maroc Telecom
SMS usage is falling. Over the first three months of 2019, just over 1 billion SMSs were sent, a 20% decrease since last year.
Internet connection
According to ANRT, 23.1 million clients had an internet connection, a 9.3% increase from last year.
The report shows a sharp increase in 4G and broadband connections since last year. Of these 23.1 million internet clients, 11 million had 4G, up 56% since last year. Connection to broadband or fiber optical internet, though still low at 82,693, increased by 88%.
These figures do not paint a picture of how many Moroccan individuals actually have access to the internet, noting a “client” may have multiple internet connections.
ANRT publishes a separate annual report on this. Its 2018 report showed that 62% of the Moroccan population had access to the internet, and 86% had smartphones, from which they were regularly using social media and other mobile apps. ANRT’s 2019 figures are not yet out.
