Morocco’s 5G Revolution: Promises and Pitfalls on the Horizon

An exceptional event to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Green March on November 6th: the commercial launch of 5G. The three national operators, IAM, Orange and Inwi are working daily. "All the players are ready, even ahead of the schedule set by ANRT (National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency, editor’s note)," says a source close to the file quoted by L’Économiste. The licenses have already been granted.

The frequencies have been delineated, and the perimeters have already been traced. The teams are making enormous efforts on the ground: the sidewalks are being dug up, cables are being deployed in Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech, Tangier, Agadir, etc. Everything is in order for the commercial launch of 5G.

However, challenges remain to be met. One of these challenges is to rebuild the economic model of the technology. It is the duty of the operators to convince companies and individuals to adopt 5G "while 4G, still efficient and less expensive, largely meets current needs."

"It is not enough to grant licenses for 5G to impose itself," warns a member of the ANRT board of directors. Success will be there only under certain conditions: the relevance of the offers, the quality of the network, the territorial coverage and above all the ability of the country to generate high value-added content and uses, as well as the involvement of startups, industrialists and public services.