Moroccan Digital Strategy 2013

Morocco is progressing well in all digital fields. Not only does it have Africa's highest speed internet connectivity, but now, according to data included in Morocco's candidacy for the International Telecommunications Union Council's elections held in Guada la Jara (Mexico), the mobile phone network reached 25.3 million in 2009 while the number of users of land phones was estimates at 3.5 million with a coverage rate of 92.46%.

Morocco's candidacy, presented by the Moroccan delegation in Hyderabad during the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-10), revealed that the number of internet users reached 1.2 million in 2009 while the number of internet surfers increased to 13 million up from 3.5 five years before.

Call centres in Rabat almost quadrupled from 122 in 2004 to 415 in 2009, whereas the number of cybercafés reached 8950.

Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and New Technologies said the progress witnessed in the field of telecommunications and new technologies in Morocco is due to the efficiency of the legal and institutional framework launched by the Kingdom to liberalize the sector and encourage private enterprise.

He said that Morocco has set up a strategy to develop the sector dubbed "digital Morocco" which seeks to make of this field a cornerstone for human development, a source of productivity and a value added to other economic sectors.

The "Digital Morocco 2013" strategy envisages nationwide access to high-speed internet, by 2013, bringing the administration closer to the needs of the user through an ambitious e-government programme, and encouraging the computerization of SMEs, he added.

The election of the 46 members of the Council of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) takes place every four years, at Plenipotentiary Conferences.