Morocco
Telecom News
Maroc Telecom
Quarterly Sales Rise 5.6% on Onatel (November
5, 2008)
(Bloomberg) -- Maroc
Telecom, Morocco's
former telephone monopoly, said third-quarter sales increased 5.6 percent, helped
by growth at its Onatel unit in Burkina Faso.
Sales climbed to 7.73 billion dirhams
($902 million) from 7.32 billion dirhams a year
earlier, the Rabat-based company said in a statement today. Operating
profit increased 7 percent to 3.76 billion dirhams.
Maroc Telecom reiterated forecasts for
an increase of more than 8 percent in sales and more than 11 percent in
operating profit this year. An 8 percent increase in sales would be the
lowest since 2003, when revenue advanced 3.1 percent.
The figures "are likely to boost the stock price in
the coming days,'' Sarwat Hassan,
a telecom analyst at ING Wholesale Banking with a "sell'' rating on
the stock, wrote in a note today. Sales beat ING's
estimate by 4 percent, Hassan said.
Maroc Telecom's shares gained 1.8
percent to 183 dirhams in Casablanca
trading, giving the company a market value of 160.8 billion dirhams, the largest in Morocco. The shares, which have
a dual listing in Morocco
and Paris, have
climbed 25 percent this year, the third-best performance of the 52-stock
benchmark index.
France's Vivendi
SA owns 53 percent of Maroc Telecom, and the
Moroccan government holds 30 percent.
'Heightened Competition'
"We managed to cut costs and improve our margins
despite a heightened competition and a challenging economic environment,'' Chief
Executive Officer Abdeslam Ahizoune
said in the statement.
Maroc Telecom is facing increased
competition in Morocco
from Meditelecom, jointly owned by Spain's Telefonica SA and Portugal Telecom SGPS SA, as well as
from Wana. The unit of investment fund Groupe ONA, which was awarded a limited-range license
less than two years ago, is bidding for the third license to offer services
using global system for mobile communications the government is putting up
for sale.
Maroc Telecom's mobile-phone revenue
in the third quarter increased 4.6 percent to 4.94 billion dirhams, accounting for two-thirds of overall sales. The
company added about 400,000 mobile-phone customers in the period, raising
the customer base to 14.6 million, two-thirds of Morocco's 21.4 million clients.
Monthly average revenue per user, a measure of profitability, dropped 8.7
percent from the year-earlier period to 100 dirhams.
Fixed-line subscribers declined 1 percent to 1.31 million.
To compensate for slower growth in Morocco, Maroc Telecom bought controlling stakes in Onatel and Gabon Telecom in 2006 and 2007. Onatel sales increased 38 percent in the quarter to 222
million dirhams, while Gabon Telecom revenue
climbed 27 percent to 185 million dirhams.
Maroc Telecom
mobile revenues rise 30 percent after African acquisitions (March 3,
2008)
- Maroc Telecom's mobile phone
revenues increased 30 per cent to €853m ($1.3bn) in 2007 due to
strong growth in its domestic market and the successful integration of the
two African businesses it acquired in 2006.
The telecom group, which is the fourth largest Arab
operator, increased its number of mobile phone customers in Morocco by
24 percent in 2007.
The growth in customer numbers enabled the company to
increase its market share in the kingdom from 67 percent a year ago to just
over 68 percent.
Maroc Telecom acquired Gabon Telecom
and Burkina Faso's
Onatel in the first quarter of 2006.
Vivendi, the French media conglomerate,
owns 53 percent of the company. The remaining capital is floated on the
stock exchanges in Paris and Casablanca.
Saudi Telecom is the largest Arab operator by market
capitalization, followed by the UAE's Etisalat and Kuwait's Zain.
Vivendi's Maroc Telecom Q1 sales rise 12 pct, led by mobile ops (April
18, 2006)
PARIS (AFX) - Vivendi Universal
unit Maroc Telecom said sales rose 12 pct in the
first quarter of 2006 from a year earlier, led by a 15.5 pct jump in gross
mobile revenues.
Sales were 5.276 bln Moroccan dirhams (481.3 mln eur), up from last year's 4.712 bln.
Gross mobile revenues, which include inter-company sales,
were 3.279 bln dirhams
while subscriber numbers rose 27.8 pct to 8.576 mln.
Gross fixed line sales rose 7.8 pct to 3.084 bln dirhams while subscriber
numbers grew 0.1 pct to 1.336 mln.
Moroccan telecom IPO
draws record retail demand (December 4, 2004)
RABAT (Reuters) - Maroc
Telecom's $1.04-billion initial public offering (IPO) has been at least 1.5
times subscribed by Moroccan retail investors, fund managers and traders
said on Friday.
Morocco is selling up to 131 million Maroc
Telecom shares, including a "greenshoe"
over-allotment option, at a price of 54.6-68.25 dirhams
($6.5-$8.1) a share for local institutional investors and 4.9-6.12 euros
for foreign ones.
Several banks extended working hours by four hours,
until 10:00 p.m. (same
as GMT) on Friday, the last subscription day for the 1.79 billion dirhams ($213.8 million) retail tranche.
"Retail subscriptions amounted to 2.7 billion dirhams up to Thursday, which gives us a 1.5
oversubscription rate," a source close to the IPO lead managers said.
"This figure excludes (subscriptions made through) Barid al-Maghrib's (Post
Office) huge network and today's operations," he added.
Maroc Telecom
officials were not immediately available for comment. Traders taking part
in the IPO spoke of even higher figures for retail investors'
subscriptions.
European-based sources familiar with Morocco's
leading telecoms firm have said the market had covered order books for the
IPO midway through the Nov.22-Dec. 7 subscription. The stock will start
trading in Casablanca
and Paris
on Dec. 13.
Higher Oversubscription Expected
"The oversubscription by institutional investors,
foreign and local, will be higher than that of retail," said the
Casablanca-based source.
Mohamed Essakalli, head of
sales at CFG Group brokerage, said the government had succeeded in making
equity investment more popular in a country where GDP per capita stands at
$1,400.
Banks offered quick loans to customers to buy Maroc Telecom shares, and retail subscriptions started
from as little as 500 dirhams, in a move
targeting ordinary Moroccans. Maroc Telecom also
spent a record amount advertising the IPO.
"People who came to buy showed unprecedented
confidence in this IPO," said an employee overseeing IPO subscriptions
in Rabat for
a bank not connected to any of the banks managing the IPO.
Several brokerage firms said the proposed price bracket
offered a large discount compared to the price clinched by Rabat for the 16
percent stake of Maroc Telecom it sold to French
media group Vivendi Universal three days before
the IPO.
Vivendi, which already
held 35 percent in the firm, raised its stake in the firm to 51 percent for
1.1 billion euros.
Although Maroc Telecom enjoys
one of the highest mobile telephone penetration rates in Africa at 30
percent, analysts see the company skimming more cash from fixed lines,
Internet and television, which all offer huge, untapped potential.
Market experts were initially sceptical
that local capital could fill the books for Morocco's largest-ever listing.
"The success of this IPO will strengthen the role
of the Casablanca
bourse as a platform to raise cash, either for the state or for the private
sector," said a member of brokerage houses group APSB.
Morocco,
Vivendi Universal seal Maroc
Telecom acquisition deal (From menareport.com, November 21, 2004)
- The Kingdom of Morocco
and Vivendi Universal have agreed to the
acquisition by Vivendi Universal of 16% of the
capital of Maroc
Telecom, Morocco's
telecom operator.
The agreement allows Vivendi Universal, a
strategic partner which has held operating control of Maroc
Telecom since the beginning of 2001, to increase its stake from 35% to 51%,
thereby perpetuating its control over the company. By virtue of the Maroc Telecom Shareholders' Agreement, and due to its
current stake, Vivendi Universal holds 51% of
voting rights in Maroc Telecom until September 1, 2005. By
taking a majority stake in the capital, Vivendi
Universal continues its controlling interest.
Between 2001 and 2003, Maroc Telecom's operating
income nearly doubled, from 3.8 to 6.9 billion dirhams
(1 euro = 11.1 MAD).
The deal amounts to 12.4 billion dirhams, or
approximately €1.1 billion. This sum includes the value of the
additional 16% stake in the capital and a premium for continuing control.
For Vivendi Universal, it will be accretive to
net income as of 2005.
Payment will be made in January 2005. Half of the amount will be financed
by long-term debt raised in Morocco.
Maroc Telecom is due to be listed on the Casablanca and Paris stock exchanges
in the very near future.
Jean-Rene Fourtou, Chairman and CEO of Vivendi Universal, welcomed this agreement which allows
"a continuation of the already highly successful partnership between
the Kingdom
of Morocco and Vivendi Universal in Maroc
Telecom and opens up new growth avenues for this company and its
employees."
Maroc sell-off to
raise $1bn (From The Gulf Daily News, November 13, 2004)
LONDON - Morocco
hopes to raise $900 million to $1 billion by selling 14.9 per cent of Maroc Telecom in what is expected to be the country's
largest privatization, banking sources said yesterday.
Initial marketing of Morocco's
leading telecoms operator has already begun and is expected to run until
next Friday.
"We have only just started speaking
to investors on the roadshow, so any attempts at
valuing the company are only preliminary," said one banker familiar
with the deal.
The auction of the shares will kick off
on November 22 and continue until December 7, and the banks will price the
deal in the following couple of days, they said.
The Moroccan government holds a 65pc
stake in the operator, while Paris-based Vivendi
Universal owns the rest.
SR Telecom announces Moroccan deal (From
menareport.com, June 18, 2004)
- SR Telecom(TM) Inc. on Wednesday announced
that it has received orders valued at over $1.6 million from Defense Nationale du Royaume du Maroc (Gendarmerie Royale).
The Gendarmerie Royale
has selected the SR500(TM) fixed wireless access system for a private voice
and data network project. Deliveries are scheduled to commence immediately.
The SR500 network will be centered in the capital city of Rabat and will transport internal voice
and data traffic for the Gendarmerie Royale. The
network will connect over 42 stations throughout Rabat.
SR Telecom will also provide certain
services, including field surveys, network design, installation, training
and project management.
"Gendarmerie Royale required a dependable
and secure solution to transport highly sensitive voice and data traffic
and they have found precisely that in the SR500. This underscores the
inherent security of our airlink and the
reliability of our wireless products," said Pierre St-Arnaud, SR
Telecom's President and Chief Executive Officer.
Flotation of Maroc
Telecom stake announced (From menareport.com, April 4, 2004)
- The Moroccan government has launched an
international tender to select an advisor for the flotation of a stake in
the state controlled Maroc Telecom.
"We want to float a stake of Maroc Telecom
before the end of the year," said Morocco's Minister of Finance
and Privatization Fathallah Oualalou. He did not
reveal the size of the stake involved in the initial public offering (IPO)
or the bourse of choice for the flotation.
Maroc Telecom is the largest telecommunications
provider and mobile operator in Morocco. French media and
communications company Vivendi Universal holds 35
percent of Maroc Telecom's shares and is
responsible for managing its operations. The state plans to sell another 16
percent stake in the company to Vivendi during
the second half of 2004, reported Reuters.
Maroc Telecom has 3.7 million mobile phone
subscribers and 1.2 million fixed-line telephone subscribers. The firm
reported a profit of four billion Moroccan dirhams
($444 million) for 2003, an 8.5 percent increase compared to figures from
the previous year.
Amitelo to acquire
Moroccan telecom company (From menareport.com, February 4, 2004)
- US-based Amitelo
Communications has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire Success Technology,
a Moroccan telecommunications solutions company.
The terms of the acquisition are for one million shares of common stock,
consisting of 800,000 restricted shares and 200,000 free-trading shares.
"We are looking to finalize this transaction with Success in the next
few weeks as we intend to integrate the company as Amitelo's
African Headquarters,” said Amitelo's CEO, Khaled M. Akid.
The company services national and multinational corporations in Network
Design and Administration, VPN Virtual Private Networks, Wireless Networks,
VoIP Solutions, Network Security and quality of
service and telecommunications consultancy.
Founded in 2001, Success Technology recorded revenues of approximately
$500,000 for 2003 and anticipates revenues of two million dollars for
financial year 2004. The company’s client roster that includes Kraft
Foods, the Gillette Company, Ernst & Young and many Moroccan ministries
and government bodies.
Amitelo Communications is an international
telecommunications and internet service provider. Its core business is the
delivery of voice and Internet services. The company concentrates on
providing both Voice over IP (VoIP)
services and Broadband DSL via Satellite in regions lacking connectivity.
Morocco makes second attempt to liberalize its fixed-line
segment (From menareport.com, January 5, 2004)
- Morocco’s telecom
regulator ANRT will try a second time to liberalize the nation’s
fixed line sector by announcing a timetable for a new license in the first
quarter of 2004, said a spokesperson from the Ministry of Industry, Trade
and Telecommunication.
Morocco
tendered in 2002 for the sale of the second fixed license but no one from
the twelve initially interested companies submitted a proposal. The fixed
line subscriber base is decreasing in the Arab state because of the boom in
the cellular market.
Speaking at a recent press conference, the ministry source said that ANRT
is trying to re-vamp the license to make it more appealing to international
telecom firms. One of the possible incentives could be a double offering of
a fixed and mobile license to a single operator.
Morocco
was the first country in the Arab World to have witnessed a drop in its
fixed lines market. The Arab state’s decreasing demand for fixed
services coupled with its very low PSTN penetration rate has clearly
induced a loss of appetite for any potential investor in the service,
According to Arab Advisors Group. Another possible reason for the lack of
interest in the fixed services tender is the relative underdevelopment of
the Internet and datacomm segments in the
country, which makes investing in fixed services even riskier.
Two telecommunication companies presently operate in Morocco
― Maroc Telecom, of which the French Vivendi Group controls 35 percent, and the Meditel Company, which belongs to the Spanish Telefonica Group.
Morocco’s
MédiTélécom secured as viable operator (From
menareport.com, February
4, 2003)
- Morocco’s communications
market is the first market in the region to undergo a very clear
“fixed to mobile substitution” phenomenon. The voice services,
fixed and mobile, still constitute the biggest share of the market with the
mobile capturing the winning position.
While Maroc Télécom’s
GSM service boomed, its fixed service declined. MédiTélécom,
which garnered a larger share of new mobile subscribers
additions in 2002 than Maroc Télécom,
seems to be securing its position as a viable operator in the country,
reported Arab Advisors in a recent publication.
The year 2002 has been a disappointing year for the liberalization process
of the communications market in Morocco. Neighboring countries
closely watched Morocco
since it was the first country in the region to try to liberalize its fixed
communications market. The spectacular success of introducing effective
duopoly competition in the GSM market did not replicate itself in the fixed
segment, quite possibly because of the boom of the GSM market.
Maroc Télécom remained
as the monopoly provider for almost five years until the second GSM
licensee, MédiTélécom, entered the Moroccan
market early 2000. By year-end 2000, the first year of competition, the
Moroccan GSM market added 2.48 million new subscribers and Maroc Télécom attracted 79
percent of whom, while Meditel had 21 percent of
the total increase.
Maroc Télécom continued
to win over the majority of new subscribers until 2002 when Meditel attracted 53 percent of the total added
subscribers leaving the remaining 47 percent of the new subscribers to the
incumbent operator, Maroc Telecom.
“The fixed line service seems to have lost its luster in Morocco.
The subscriber base is decreasing because of the boom in the cellular
market and lack of attention by the incumbent to the segment. The demand
for the fixed services, at its current rates, is diminishing in the country
although the market has a very low PSTN penetration rate. This clearly
causes a loss of appetite for any potential investor in the service,”
Arab Advisors Group’s analyst, Hala Baqain wrote in the report.
“Another possible reason for the lack of interest in the fixed
services tender is the relative underdevelopment of the Internet and datacomm segments in the country, which makes investing
in fixed services even riskier,” Baqain
continued
“Competition, between Maroc Télécom and MédiTélécom, is
quite healthy. Both operators offer their services at competitive rates and
provide subsidized handsets and very generous prepaid terms as well as
postpaid terms. Both operators were very successful in increasing their
subscriber base nonetheless Maroc Télécom still had the largest market share of around 70
percent by year-end 2002.”
Nokia supplies Moratel with TETRA network (From menareport.com, November 20, 2002)
- Finland’s Nokia and
Morocco Radio Telecom (Moratel) have signed a
contract for a complete Nokia TETRA system using IP technology. TETRA will
be the first digital professional mobile radio system in Morocco.
Deliveries and implementation have already begun and the TETRA service is
expected to be available by the end of 2002 in Casablanca prior to nationwide rollout.
The system will provide voice and data communication facilities and
services, including public safety and security, transportation, utilities,
construction and emergency services.
Nokia will deliver TETRA switching equipment, a number of base stations,
dispatcher stations, and Nokia TETRA handsets. Special features include:
communication security, fast network-wide group calls, emergency call functionality,
prioritized calls, advanced messaging and data
communication services, including IP packet data.
In addition to network equipment, Nokia will provide its Network Deployment
Package, which covers implementation, commissioning and project management;
the Nokia KeyCare Package, which maintains the
competitiveness of the network after roll-out; and a package of training
services for developing staff competencies.
Moratel is a private operator in Morocco,
which is willing to provide TETRA services to professional users such as
utilities, safety and logistics. Moratel will
implement TETRA in Morocco’s
main cities such as Casablanca
and Rabat,
targeting in the future a nationwide network. They will promote advanced IP
TETRA services, including IP applications such as Automatic Vehicle
location or database mobile access.
Morocco telecom watchdog ANRT head
resigns (January 12, 2002)
RABAT (Reuters) -
The head of Morocco's
ANRT telecommunications watchdog, Mostafa Terrab, resigned on Friday, weeks after accusing the
government of political interference.
He said he was "unsatisfied with
the evolution of Morocco's
telecom sector in the past year" and would take a job at the World
Bank. "I officially presented my resignation on Thursday for personal
reasons ... I will join the World Bank's information technology department
in Washington
by January 28," Terrab said.
Terrab, 46, a
graduate of US Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and former
senior official at the royal palace, told local media at the end of
November he would resign to protest against the Socialist-led government's
political interference in ANRT's independent
regulatory policy.
A senior government official confirmed the
resignation but declined to comment. It was the first resignation of a
senior official appointed by royal decree in an apparent protest against
the cabinet of Socialist Prime Minister Abderrahmane
El Youssoufi's policies, a European diplomat who
declined to be named said of Terrab's unexpected
move.
"It is clear that Terrab was fed up with political intrigues and tricks
of some government officials," the diplomat added.
Broken trust
A Casablanca-based telecom analyst
linked Terrab's decision to a recent draft
amendment introduced by the government to the post and telecommunications
law.
A dispute erupted last year between
ANRT and Secretary of State for Information Technology and Communications Nacer Hajji, who had battled for changes to the telecom
act, including ANRT's legal status. "The
change was presumably motivated by political and budgetary considerations
and will undoubtedly harm the image of Morocco's ongoing efforts to
liberalize the telecom sector," the analyst added in a reference to an
expected 2002 legislative elections campaign.
Initial amendments due to be adopted
later this year by a meeting chaired by King Mohammed have maintained the
independence of ANRT and given courts the possibility to quash disputes in
the sector, officials have said.
But Terrab
argued over the changes to the law. "Even though the government's
attempts have failed over the control of ANRT and damage was avoided, the
result was not entirely positive...," Terrab
said on Friday.
"One thing is sure, the
relationship of trust and confidence between ANRT and the government was
broken," Terrab added but declined to
elaborate.
Terrab has also said
that Hajji, who is a member of Maroc Telecom's
board of directors, failed six months ago to apply the necessary sanctions
against Maroc Telecom for failing to respect
rules of fair competition and transparency.
Last March Maroc
Telecom, in which Vivendi Universal holds a 35
percent stake, granted its customers a 10 percent rebate on calls from fixed
to mobile phones. ANRT branded the cut unfair because it did not apply to
customers of Maroc Telecom's competitor, Meditel, the local arm of a consortium led by Spain's
Telefonica .
It ordered Maroc
Telecom to extend the offer to Meditel customers
but the national operator did not comply and chose instead to cancel the
deal altogether.
Maroc Telecom prepares for rival (from the itp.net, August 24, 2001)
Maroc Telecom is preparing for the arrival of
a third GSM operator in 2003 by expanding its network and adding
subscribers.
The company, already facing stiff competition from Telefonica-owned MediTel, has
signed up with long-term partner Motorola, which will provide a string of new
GSM base stations in exchange for $47 million. “It’s
indicative of the growing demand for wireless services throughout the
Middle East and Africa,”
said Jeff Cherif, general manager of Motorola’s MEA telecom carrier solution group.
“That trend is expected to continue as network
operators, such as Maroc Telecom, prepare for
entry into GPRS services and solutions.”
The American company will supply its Horizon macro GSM
900 MHz base stations for installation in Marrakech, Agadir,
Tangier, Tetouan, Fes, Maknes, Casablanca and El-jadida. The contract covers site acquisition, installation,
integration and network optimization.
Morocco currently has around four million subscribers, about 15
percent of the population.
Motorola Takes
High-Speed Wireless on Road to Morocco (August 4, 2001)
MOROCCO (AP) -
Motorola has signed a US$47 million contract with Maroc
Telecom to bring high-speed GSM 900 (global system for mobile
communications at 900 MHz) wireless service to many of the hot spots in Morocco.
Maroc Telecom, one of Morocco's largest
mobile operators, will be able to offer GSM service in eight of the most
popular Moroccan cities: Marrakech and Agadir in
the southern region, and Tangier, Tetouan, Fes, Meknes, Casablanca and El-jadida in the northern parts.
New
technology
Motorola
said that it not only will provide equipment as part of the deal, but
services, too -- including site acquisition, installation, integration and
network optimization.
Under
the contract with Maroc Telecom, Motorola's
Global Telecom Solutions Sector will be adding the new generation of
Horizon macro GSM 900 Megahertz base stations. The deal is an extension of
Motorola's relationship with Maroc Telecom, and
Motorola is optimistic that the relationship will continue.
“This
contract signing demonstrates not only the level of continued commitment
between Maroc Telecom and Motorola but also
emphasizes that our business partnership is continuing strongly into the
future," said Jeff Cherif, general manager
of Motorola's Middle East and Africa
Telecom Carrier Solutions Group.
"It's
indicative of the growing demand for wireless services throughout the
Middle East and Africa, as is evident by the number of recent contract wins
Motorola has signed in the region," he added.
Cherif also noted that the trend of network
deals in the region is expected to continue as network operators
move to GPRS (general packet radio services) networks that are suited to
accommodate the growth of wireless data services.
Deals
galore
The
Moroccan deal is just the latest in a string of wireless deals announced
this year by Motorola and some of its key competitors, including Nokia,
Nortel and Lucent.
Early
in July, Motorola announced wireless contracts totaling more than $850
million.
In one
deal worth $700 million alone, Motorola agreed to provide 3G (third
generation) wireless devices to Hutchison Whampoa
Group in its key markets, including Australia, Austria, Italy, Sweden and
the United Kingdom.
At the same time, Motorola said it also signed
a $150 million network-infrastructure expansion deal with UK mobile
operator BT Cellnet to provide a range of GSM
base stations, related equipment and services.
Motorola to expand Maroc Telecom infrastructure (from
the gulfnews.com, August
2, 2001)
- Motorola has signed a $47 million deal to expand the
infrastructure of Maroc Telecom, the Moroccan GSM
mobile services operator.
The contract
was awarded to Motorola division Global Telecom Solutions Sector (GTSS).
The deal is also an extension of the company's arrangements with Maroc Telecom as a base station supplier for the GSM
network.
"Our
business partnership is continuing strongly into the future. It is
indicative of the growing demand for wireless services throughout the Middle East and Africa,
as the number of contract wins by Motorola in the region illustrates,"
said Jeff Cherif, MEA general manager at the
company's telecom carrier solutions group.
"This
trend is expected to continue as network operators prepare for entry into
GPRS services and solutions for their customers." Motorola's turnkey
solutions for Maroc cover site acquisition,
installation, integration and network optimization.
Morocco to launch
third GSM phone license (July 15, 2001)
RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco
will launch a third GSM mobile phone license in 2003 to improve services in
the country, the local telecom watchdog ANRT has said.
Morocco currently has
two cellular phone licenses owned by state-run operator Maroc
Telecom -- in which French media giant Vivendi
Universal bought a 35 percent stake last year -- and a consortium led by Spain's
Telefonica . "Morocco
plans to launch the third GSM mobile phone license in 2003 ... This is part
of the liberalization of the telecom sector," ANRT managing director Mostafa Terrab said.
The
North African country broke the state monopoly of the GSM mobile phone
sector in 1999 and plans to open fixed telephone lines to private operators
in 2002. Terrab said Morocco was registering
"one of the highest growth rate in the world
in the cellular phone sector thanks to fair and transparent
competition."
Terrab, 46, a graduate of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) and a former royal palace aide, said Morocco's
telecom sector would probably continue its fast growth in the next few
years thanks to huge public and private investments. "During the
1999-2002 period, the investment of both operators
in infrastructure and installations ... is estimated at up to $3.0
billion," he said.
Respect
fair competition
But he
noted that the development of the sector depended on "the commitment
and ability" of the telecom operators to respect an honest and
transparent competition that benefits consumers and serves Morocco's
image abroad.
Terrab was referring to what he termed
"the government's failure" to regulate unfair competition in the
fast-growing sector. ANRT has sent several letters to Prime Minister Abderrahmane El Youssoufi
asking him to take legal action against Maroc
Telecom for violating competition rules but had received no reply, he said.
Maroc Telecom officials said last week that
it was too early to reply to ANRT's charges.
In
May, ANRT asked Maroc Telecom to extend an offer
for Internet packages, which include subscription as well as
telecommunications tariffs, to all other providers. The firm refused and
then cancelled the packages. Maroc Telecom has a
monopoly over fixed line services.
In
April, Maroc Telecom was involved in a similar
dispute about a 10 percent discount on calls from fixed to mobile phones.
It cancelled the discount after refusing to extend it to its main
competitor in the mobile phone sector, Meditelecom,
partly owned by Telefonica. "The
government's paralysis and lack of courage to end this dispute harm...Morocco's
credibility abroad and eight years of efforts to liberalize the
sector," Terrab said.
The
telecom sector accounts for a growing stake of between five and six percent
of Morocco's
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is estimated at 365 billion dirhams ($30.77 billion).
At the
end of June, Morocco
had four million GSM subscribers and around 1.5 million owners of fixed
phone lines, Terrab said.
In
1999, the figures were about 200,000 GSM phone clients and around 1.0
million fixed lines subscribers.
Moroccan,
French telecom watchdogs sign deal (July 11, 2001)
RABAT, Morocco (Reuters) -
The Moroccan and French telecom watchdogs on Tuesday signed a five-year
cooperation agreement to exchange expertise and information in the sector,
the official MAP news agency said.
The
accord was signed by the head of French Telecom Regulator (ART),
Jean-Michel Hubert, and Mostafa Terrab, managing director of Morocco's ANRT.
The
Rabat-based ANRT was involved in the supervision of Morocco's
telecom privatization process, including the sale last year of 35 percent of
national operator Maroc Telecom to France's Vivendi Universal for $2.2 billion.
Morocco's telecom
watchdog slams government (July 5, 2001)
RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's
telecom watchdog ANRT on Wednesday denounced what it called the
government's failure to regulate unfair competition in the fast-growing
sector.
The
independent ANRT said state-controlled Maroc
Telecom, in which France's
media giant Vivendi Universal holds a 35-percent
stake, had violated the rules of fair competition on the domestic market.
"ANRT
will not be part of a conspiracy of silence against the violations of
competition rules in the telecom sector," Mostafa
Terrab, head of the Agence
Nationale de Reglementation
des Telecommunications, told a news conference.
He said
ANRT had sent several letters to Prime Minister Abderrahmane
El Youssoufi asking him to take legal action
against Maroc Telecom but had received no reply.
"This kind of behavior will harm Morocco's image abroad, six
years of efforts to liberalize the sector and the setting up of transparent
and fair competition framework," Terrab
said.
Maroc Telecom chairman Abdeslam
Ahizoune said it was too early to reply to ANRT's charges and that the company would issue a
statement later.
In
May, ANRT asked Maroc Telecom to extend an offer
for Internet packages, which includes subscription as well as
telecommunications tariffs, to all other providers. The firm refused and
then cancelled the packages.
Maroc Telecom has a monopoly over fixed line
services. In April, Maroc Telecom was involved in
a similar dispute about a 10 percent discount on calls from fixed to mobile
phones.
It
cancelled the discount after refusing to extend it to its main competitor
in the mobile phone sector, Meditelecom.
Meditelecom, partly owned by Spanish telecom group
Telefonica, bought its GSM license in 1999 for
$1.1 billion. It does not operate fixed telephone lines.
Maroc Telecom operates the first GSM license
with over 3.0 million users and has 1.5 million fixed line subscribers.
Maroc Telecom cancels "unfair" call
discounts (April 26, 2001)
RABAT (Reuters) - Moroccan national
telecoms operator Maroc Telecom will cancel a
discount on calls from fixed to mobile phones that the country's telecoms
watchdog called unfair.
Maroc Telecom, in which French Vivendi
Universal holds 35 percent, said in a statement on Wednesday the 10 percent
cut on the calls will end on May 1.
The widely advertised discount,
in force since January, had prompted second mobile phone operator Meditelecom to complain of unfair competition to
telecoms watchdog ANRT.
"Maroc
Telecom could not reasonably apply this cut on this type of calls because
it does not control the calls' costs of the competitor," the statement
said.
"This measure follows an
ANRT decision to consider the cut discriminatory," it added.
Meditelecom, a consortium led by Spain's Telefonica
which bought its license in 1999 for $1.1 billion, has a million
subscribers and does not operate fixed telephone lines.
Maroc Telecom operates the first GSM license with over 2.5
million users and has a monopoly over the fixed network with some 1.5
million subscribers.
Maroc Telecom finalizes Mauritanian
acquisition (April
13, 2001)
NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - Morocco's
state controlled Maroc Telecom on Friday finalised its $48 million acquisition of a 54 percent
stake in Mauritania's
telecoms operator Mauritel.
"The agreements we have
signed constitute a watershed in relations between the two countries,"
said Moroccan Economy and Finance Minister Fathallah Oualalou
at a signing ceremony in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott.
Maroc Telecom took part last year together with Portugal
Telecom in an international tender for the sale of a majority stake in Mauritel.
The deal with Mauritania
was Maroc Telecom's first cross-border
investment. It was also the first foreign venture since Vivendi
Universal bought a 35 percent stake in the Moroccan national telecoms
operator in December.
Mauritania, a largely desert state on the Atlantic coast, spans
Black and Arab Africa.
Spanish
Telefonica Operates Call Center
In Tangier (March
25, 2001)
TANGIER
(Rabat) - Atento-Maroc, a branch of the Spanish telecom operator
TELEFONICA, has set up in the Moroccan northern city of Tangier a call center.
The
call center was officially dedicated by a delegation led by advisor to the
King, Andre Azoulay, and secretary of state in
charge of post, information technology and communication, Nasr Hajji.
The
call center is currently employing some 300 operators. The number will jump
to 1000 by the end of the year. Atento-Maroc is
projecting to set up a similar center in Tetuan
by the end of April. The Tetuan center will
provide 1000 jobs by 2002.
Morocco to pay $48 mln
for 54 pct of Mauritel (March 20, 2001)
RABAT (Reuters)
- Morocco's state-controlled Maroc Telecom will
soon finalise the acquisition of 54 percent of
Mauritania's telecoms operator Mauritel for $48
million, a Telecommunication Ministry official said on Tuesday.
“The
official announcement of the deal is imminent,'' the official, who declined
to be named, said.
The
official MAP news agency, confirming the deal, said later that Maroc Telecom President Abdeslam
Ahizoune met Mauritanian President Maaouya ould Sid'Ahmed Taya on Tuesday “after
winning the Mauritel tender.”
Maroc Telecom took part last year together
with Portugal Telecom in an international tender for the sale of a majority
stake in Nouakchott-based Mauritel.
The deal with the neighbouring
country was the first cross-border investment for Maroc
Telecom. It was also the first foreign venture for Maroc
Telecom since Vivendi Universal paid $2.2 billion
for a 35 percent stake in the Moroccan national telecoms operator in
December.
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