Maroc Telecom
| Public | |
| Traded as | Euronext: IAM |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | Owned by Etisalat (53.09%) (2013) |
| Headquarters | Rabat, Morocco |
Key people |
Abdeslam Ahizoune, Chairman & CEO Laurent MAIROT, CFO |
| Products | Land line phones, Mobile phone lines, Internet access |
| Revenue | MAD 28,559 million (FY 2013) |
| MAD 5,540 million (FY 2013) | |
Number of employees | 11,807 (2013) |
| Website | http://www.maroctelecom.com |
Maroc Telecom (Acronym: IAM, Arabic: اتصالات المغرب) is the main telecommunication company in Morocco.
IAM employs around 11,178 employees. It has 8 regional delegations with 220 offices present on all the territory of Morocco. The company is listed on both the Casablanca Stock Exchange and Euronext Paris.
History
From postal services to telephony
The acronym IAM of Maroc Telecom comes from its original name Ittisalat Al Maghrib. The name "Maroc Telecom" was adopted later for better international recognizability.
The origin of a Moroccan telecommunication project dates back to 1891 when King Hassan I created the first postal service of Morocco. In 1913, the Moroccan Postal Telephone and Telegraph was established before a Dahir (King's decree) related to the monopole of the state of Telegraphy and Telephony was published.
Telephony
In 1967 Morocco placed the first underwater cable between Tetouan, Morocco, and Perpignan, France, through the Mediterranean. A few years later, in 1970, a transmission via INTELSAT was introduced. The Telex service was then automated in 1971 just before installing a digital center in Fes.
Due to the advancement of Telecommunications around the globe, Morocco decided to create a new entity called the Office National des Postes et Télécommunications (ONPT) to manage the industry. ONPT was responsible of the introduction of Analog Mobile Radiotelephony in 1987. Later on, in 1992, Morocco set up the first underwater optical fiber cable. Two years later, a GSM service was operational.
Internet
The internet was introduced in Morocco by ONPT in 1995. Service remains slow, with Maroc Telecom typically delivering less than half, and sometimes only a tenth, of promised speeds of up to 20 mbps.
The birth of IAM
After the publication of a telecommunications' decree, Maroc Telecom (IAM) is founded in 1998.
Privatization
On 20 February 2001 the Moroccan Government sold 35% of Maroc Telecom's shares to French mass media company Vivendi. The transaction amounted to 23 Billion dirhams.[1] On 4 January 2005 Vivendi acquired an additional 16% for 12.4 billion dirhams raising its participation to 51%.[2] In October 2007, the CDG ceded, via its subsidiary Filpar Holding, 2% of Maroc Telecom to Vivendi in exchange of 0.6% of Vivendi's shares, putting the total shares owned by Vivendi to 53%.[3]
Ownership stake
In July 2013, it was announced that the firm’s majority owner, Vivendi, would sell its 53% stake in the firm to Etisalat for around $4.2 billion.[4]
Activities
IAM has three main activities:
Land lines
It consists of the provision of public phones throughout Morocco. The fixed park reaches 1,34 million lines.
Mobile phones
Mobile services are provided via a GSM network. Morocco Telecom counted 33 million customers at the end of October 2012. Its network covers 97% of the Moroccan population. It also has 12.5 million customers in Mali, Gabon, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. It is one of the most profitable phone operators in Africa with a revenue of 2.2 Billion Euros during the first 9 months of 2012.[5]
Projects and investments
On June 1, 2006, IAM launched the IPTV package deployed by Huawei Technology via the ADSL line. The service was the first of its kind in Africa and the Middle East.
In July 2006 Maroc Telecom signed with the French telecommunications equipment company Alcatel a contract for a submarine cable network connection between Morocco and France. Morocco Telecom's aim is to upgrade the capacity of its services (i.e.broadband services, call centers...). The project cost € 26 million and was named "Atlas Offshore".[6]
In December 2006, IAM invested in Burkina Faso’s ONATEL acquiring 51% of its capital.[7]
See also
- Communications in Morocco
- Internet censorship in Morocco
- List of telephone operating companies
- Inwi
- Meditel
- Maroc Telecom HQ
References
- ↑ M. K. (2000-12-22). "Maroc Telecom épouse Vivendi". L'Economiste. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ↑ Bensalem FENNASSI (05 - 01 - 2005). "Fourtou remet le chèque". Aujourd'hui le Maroc. Retrieved 25 October 2012. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "Télécommunications : Vivendi monte à 53% dans le capital de Maroc Telecom". Le Matin. 16 October 2007. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
- ↑ Sophie Sassard (22 July 2013). "Vivendi to announce Maroc Telecom sale to Etisalat - sources". Reuters.
- ↑ "Maroc Télécom : la croissance internationale se poursuit". Jeune Afrique.
- ↑ Alcatel goes submarine to Morocco
- ↑ Maroc Telecom prend le contrôle d’Onatel - lefaso.net
External links
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