Morocco is something of a miracle in Africa. Not only does it have massive infrastructure programmes going ahead at full speed, but in telecommunications it is the number one country in the region. While visitors are impressed by the internet speeds (the highest in Africa), the biggest surprise is the extent of mobile phone coverage. The ability to take and make calls in remote areas is superb. Yet even now, it is to be improved.
Maroc Telecom has signed its fourth and final agreement with Moroccan regulator the ANRT under the country’s universal service scheme, PACT (programme of general access to telecommunications), with the latest phase to cover 1,573 villages as part of a project to serve 7,338 rural communities including many in remote areas, under a total investment of around MAD2.8 billion (USD345 million).
The incumbent telco’s statement said that 5,765 communities will have received its telecoms services in three phases between 2008 and late-July 2011, and by 31 December 2011 the entire population living in 7,338 areas will have access to mobile telephony and emergency services numbers.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Maroc Telecom accounts for the lion’s share of PACT’s overall aim of extending services to 9,263 locations in 2008-2011 via fixed-wireless and mobile networks.
No comments:
Post a Comment