The Telecommunications Regulatory National Agency (ANRT) said in a statement yesterday it wants to be one of the first African countries to gain access to 4G telecoms services.
“We will launch the tenders to award 4G licences by the end of the year, and the opening of the service is expected in 2014,” said Azdine El Mountassir Billah, head of ANRT. “It is not a luxury, it is a must.”
The regulator originally had plans to sell at least one 4G licence in Q4 last year, but no reasons were given for the delay.
Vivendi’s Maroc Telecom dominates the market at present, but it will be sold. Other operators including France Telecom owned Medi Telecom and Zain owned Inwi make up the market.
Mobile phone penetration stands at approximately 115% in Morocco, and the country had four million internet subscribers at the end of March 2013.
