Morocco Weighs Geopolitical Factors in 5G Infrastructure Decision

While experts claim that 5G does not pose a health and environmental risk, the question of the strategic and geopolitical issues surrounding it and the impact of the pandemic on the global economy remains, says L’Opinion, adding that in this context, Morocco must decide on the operating method as well as the technical means to be deployed for the implementation of 5G in the kingdom, in order to save the industry and the Internet in the future.

The Kingdom will first have to decide on the crucial question of the choice of the equipment manufacturer who will be responsible for setting up the first 5G infrastructures. And here the country is the object of a persistent courtship by two operators.

Huawei Morocco’s strategic marketing director, Chakib Achour, makes no secret of his team’s ambition to deploy the 5G network as soon as possible with telecom operators "to enable the local digital ecosystem to boost its connectivity and fully benefit from the technological and business opportunities related to the Internet of Things, cloud, big data and artificial intelligence".

Similarly, Ericsson Morocco’s CEO Nora Wahby, declared the availability and capacity of her structure to support Morocco for 5G. The delay in the Kingdom’s designation of the equipment manufacturer of its choice suggests that 5G will not be for 2021.

For the record, according to data published by OMDIA, South Korea is currently the country that has invested the most in its 5G infrastructure deployment. Then come Switzerland, Kuwait, the United States, Qatar and China. China is currently deploying thousands of 5G antennas every week. In France, the first 5G frequency auctions were held from September 29 to October 1, 2020, the same source reports.