The Moroccan group multiplies investments to deploy fiber optics in its African subsidiaries, in a context of high demand in high speed internet.
A strategy turned towards sub -Saharan Africa
Maroc Telecom is strengthening its presence in sub -Saharan Africa, which has become its main growth engine in recent years. In 2024, the operator devoted 1.4 billion dirhams ($ 150.7 million) to its regional subsidiaries, confirming its ambition to become a key player in fixed broadband on the continent.
Objective: to generalize fiber in urban and peri -urban areas
The company has announced the acceleration of the deployment of optical fiber in the urban and peri -urban areas of several African countries. This initiative aims to meet growing demand for very high speed connection, essential for professional and personal uses, including telework, e-commerce or cloud services.
“The deployment aims to offer a more stable and faster connection, pillar of the digital transformation of companies,” said the group in its consolidated results in the first quarter of 2025, published recently.
Morocco Telecom’s strategy intervenes in a favorable context: the adoption of fixed broadband explodes in the countries where the operator is present – Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali, Gabon and, more recently, Côte d’Ivoire. The number of subscribers increased from 135,000 in the first quarter of 2021 to 281,000 in early 2025, an increase of 108.1 % in four years.
To support this growth, Maroc Telecom invested some 150 million euros in 2023 in the construction of the “West Africa.” Submarine cable. ” With a maximum capacity of 100 terabits per second, this infrastructure connects the group’s African subsidiaries and aims to digitally opening up the continent while providing high speed internet access at international level.
A market still largely under-exploited
With only 36.4 million households connected to high speed fixed in 2023 (an penetration rate of 11.5 %), the African market offers high potential. According to Africa Analysis, this figure could reach 65.4 million households by 2030, with an expected penetration at 17.3 %. Maroc Telecom intends to capture a large part of this growth.
Challenges to be met: rural areas and increased competition
For the time being, the group focuses its efforts on the most populous areas, temporarily abandoning rural regions. In addition, competition is intensifying: MTN giants, Airtel Africa and Orange are also in common in fiber optics infrastructure to impose themselves on this expanding market.
Par WritingEditorial committee – Casablanca
