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Rabat- Maroc Telecom and the Moroccan government have signed a new MAD 10 billion investment convention as part of the government’s “proactive investment policy” to rehabilitate and develop the country’s telecom infrastructure.
The agreement is aimed at furthering the telecom company’s outreach in a Moroccan telecommunication market in which it already sits comfortably at the top.
In an announcement following the signing of the convention, both the government and the managing board of Maroc Telecom highlighted the agreement’s benefits for the society at large.
The move will not only confirm the company’s status as the country’s most widely used network provider, but will also facilitate nationwide access to 4G and broadband connections.
In addition to that, the announcement added, the bulk of the MAD 10 billion investment plan will go towards enhancing Moroccans’ telephone and internet experiences by facilitating access to a more reliable and faster network for regular phone calls and online activities.
Another part of the fund is expected to go into expanding Maroc Telecom’s activities, which will in turn create job prospects for thousands of Moroccans, the announcement reassured.
The previous investment conventions between the government and Maroc Telecom—five in total—amounted to MAD 68 billion.
While the high figure may raise eyebrows among critics who have relentlessly complained over the years about the Moroccan government condoning Maroc Telecom’s tacit monopoly, the documents of the conventions make the point that the series of investments cannot be detached from their aim of improving most Moroccans’ experience with phone calls and internet connection.
The company remains by far Morocco’s leading telecom organization, boasting almost half of the country’s telephone and broadband connections market.
The move’s implicit counterargument against critics who view the investments as the government condoning monopoly is that Maroc Telecom’s total share of the Moroccan market—43.8%, is a testimony of the sizable number of Moroccans who will benefit from improved Maroc Telecom services.
This, and the job creation aspect, appear to be the deal’s selling points, but it is to be seen whether the news will sit well with the other remaining percentage of Moroccans subscribed to other companies like Inwi, the second in Morocco’s telecom hierarchy and a virulent critic of its rival’s monopoly tendencies.
