Rabat – Morocco’s telecommunication giant Maroc Telecom is set to appeal the Monday court decision requiring it to pay $636 Million in compensation to Wana Corporate – Inwi, converging reports indicate.
The Rabat Commercial Court ruled on Monday that Maroc Telecom should compensate Wana Corporate a staggering MAD 6.3 billion ($636 million) in an antitrust case.
The ruling comes after a long-standing legal battle that began in 2020 when Inwi accused Maroc Telecom of engaging in “anti-competition” practices following the liberalisation of Morocco’s telecom sector.
Inwi had originally sought compensation of MAD 6.85 billion ($684 million) in the case. The dispute revolves around allegations that Maroc Telecom abused its dominant market position in the practice of unbundling, specifically Local Loop Unbundling (LLU).
Unbundling refers to the practice of allowing different companies to use the same physical cables or wires that connect homes or businesses to the telephone network. This measure promotes healthy competition, enabling multiple providers to offer services using existing infrastructure.
The legal saga began when Inwi filed a complaint against Maroc Telecom with the Moroccan telecommunications regulatory body ANRT in December 2016. The complaint accused Maroc Telecom of engaging in anti-competitive practices in the implementation of local-loop unbundling.
ANRT initiated an investigation into the allegations in 2017, revealing that Maroc Telecom had engaged in anti-competitive conduct since 2013 that prevented and delayed competitors’ access to local-loop unbundling and the landline market.
BMCI Capital Global Research, a market research company, suggests that the court’s ruling could significantly impact Maroc Telecom’s profit margins and distribution strategy for the year 2024, unless the company has made provisions, either in the fourth quarter of 2023 or post-closure.
In a document published on Monday, BMCI Capital Global Research explained that Maroc Telecom has faced financial setbacks in recent years, including a MAD 3.3 billion ($329 million) fine imposed by ANRT in 2019, further complicating the telecom giant’s financial standing.
