Moroccan Telecom Giants Form Surprise Alliance, Invest $420 Million in Infrastructure

This agreement provides for a joint investment of 4.4 billion Moroccan dirhams, or about 420 million euros, for an initial phase spread over three years. The stated objective is clear: "to accelerate the deployment of fiber optic and 5G," as indicated in a joint press release. This technological upgrade is a major challenge for Morocco, in a market where the French group Orange is also present.

Beyond the technical and financial aspect, this rapprochement above all marks the end of a period of strong tensions between the two companies. Maroc Telecom (IAM) and Inwi (Wana Corporate) have indeed decided to bury the hatchet after a legal dispute that has lasted too long. Last January, the Moroccan justice had nevertheless sentenced IAM in the first instance to pay the colossal sum of 6.4 billion dirhams (nearly 590 million euros) to Inwi for "anti-competitive practices".

According to the terms of the new agreement, "the agreements between Maroc Telecom and Inwi are part of a common desire to overcome their past dispute over infrastructure sharing." This desire for appeasement is concretely reflected in a mutual waiver of the legal appeals filed and a halving of the amount of the compensation initially set by the court.

The dispute concerned accusations of abuse of dominant position against Maroc Telecom, the historical operator controlled by the Emirati group Etissalat. Inwi in particular blamed its rival for not respecting the rules of competition by slowing down the opening of its fixed telephony network, the famous "unbundling", despite the liberalization of the sector. As early as 2020, the Moroccan telecommunications regulator, the ANRT, had already fined it 3.3 billion dirhams (more than 305 million euros) for "behavior constituting an abuse of a dominant position", following a previous complaint from Inwi.