The North African country of Morocco has a population of over 32 million and, according to a report by the country’s national telecom regulator ANRT ((Agence National de Réglementation des Télécommunications), last year the country experienced a 113.57% mobile subscriber penetration.
According to the ANRT report “mobile voice traffic increased by 65.6 percent and SMS traffic by 31.38 percent, compared to last year. Maroc Telecom saw its mobile market share fall to 48.85 percent at the end of 2011, compared to 52.81 percent a year earlier, Medi Telecom’s dipped to 32.92 percent from 33.74 percent and Wana Corporate’s (Inwi) grew to 20.23 percent from 13.45 percent.”
Research into Internet speeds within countries, conducted by Net Index, positioned Morocco 115th on the greater scale of Internet download speeds, with an average of 2.84Mbps. Fixed Internet Meditel scored the highest download speed with 6.98 Mbps.
Maroc Telecom is understood to be the main telecommunications services provider within the country. Other service providers operating within the country include GlobalTT and Wana Technology.
The growth is being spurred on by continued investment within the ICT sector by recognised global suppliers.
IBM is a recent example. Earlier this month the company announced the expansion of operations in Morocco with the opening of an expanded location within the administrative capital, Rabat.
The new office in Rabat is part of a broad program of investment that IBM is making across Africa, covering the opening of new branches and facilities, the recruitment of new staff and business partners and investment in training, marketing and citizenship programs.
Through its geographic expansion initiative, IBM is ramping up its presence in cities and regions where there is significant opportunity for growth and where businesses and government organizations are turning to IT to transform their operations and increase competitiveness.
The company has sourced information from the World Bank stating that Morocco experienced a GDP growth rate of 4,5% in 2011.
Abdallah Rachidi Alaoui, IBM General Manager Morocco, says in terms of technology use and investment, the country’s expenditures include everything from computer hardware, software and services right through to communications services and wired & wireless networks.
“IBM has been serving customers in Morocco since 1932, when we installed the first equipment at the Moroccan Statistics Department. We’ve been managing our operations in Morocco from our Casablanca office for years now and we opened a second office in the Kingdom, specifically in Rabat, in order to strengthen our presence and be able to provide solutions and services to customers and partners.
We’ve played an active role in the development of IT inMorocco for more than 80 years, and are consolidating this position, through our recent initiatives like the opening of an Innovation and Technical Exploration Centres in Casablanca in 2008, the first in Africa. We also deployed a Smarter Cities challenge in Rabat this year where IBM experts have provided government leaders with recommendations for a more effective and efficient public transport system in Rabat and nearby Saleand Temara by 2020,” he says.
Alaoui says the company emphasises its investment in Morocco because it recognises the opportunities presented by high growth rates and an increasingly competitive market.
“By strengthening our presence in Rabat, we are able to offer the most advanced technologies and solutions to our local partners and clients – helping them to do things smarter and more efficiently,” he adds.
Chris Tredger, Online Editor
