Country profile: Morocco

Maroc Telecom is the leading MNO in the Moroccan market with 38% market share, ahead of both Inwi (inwhich Zain has a 15.5% stake) and Orange in a country with 49.2mn subscribers. Data usage continues to grow as 4G rollout progresses, with Maroc Telecom reporting 4G population coverage at 93% (versus 73% in 2016). Mobile remains the main medium for high-speed internet access as last-mile fibre has yet to become commercially viable and operators prefer to invest in mobile infrastructure, spurred by rising smartphone penetration and data access.

Maroc Telecom has the largest tower portfolio with approximately 10,500 sites, whilst Orange and Inwi are understood to have around 5,000 each. Infrastructure sharing between the MNOs exists, with approximately 15% of sites thought to be shared but largely continue to operate their own network infrastructure. The Moroccan grid is generally good with IPT Powertech providing an ESCO service to 100 remote sites for Inwi.

Orange has been building solar farms to inject into the grid as it’s cheaper to generate their own energy and pay a transport fee than consume expensive grid energy. This model of using existing grid infrastructure to transport renewable energy from large solar farms to sites could be an effective solution for MNOs and towercos in the region to circumvent rising energy prices and help meet sustainability goals.

Maroc Telecom is closely linked with the government, and since 2019 has been investing in new communications infrastructure in the Kingdom. Under the agreement, Maroc Telecom is investing MAD10 billion (US$1bn) over the 2019-2021 period, focusing on deployment of mobile and fixed high-speed broadband. The government is actively promoting digital infrastructure.

The Moroccan government has shown a desire to pursue digital transformation, signing an agreement with Orange in June 2022 for US$575.6mn in investment to enhance 4G/5G cell sites and FTTX networks. 5G is anticipated in 2022 with Orange waiting on licensing permission which could push operators to share infrastructure as a way to reduce opex and network overlap. Both Inwi and Maroc Telecom are running 5G trials, and with Orange’s 5G experience in other markets all MNOs will likely be able to launch when the market is ready.

While no tower activity has emerged yet, TowerXchange is aware of interest from several parties in launching build-to-suit services in the market. Both Maroc Telecom (through its parent company Etisalat) and Orange have worked with towercos in Africa before, and Inwi is part owned by Zain telecom which has been on a tower selling spree across its Middle Eastern markets. One to watch.