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Morocco determined to bridge digital divide

Morocco is one of the African countries working very hard to benefit from Information Communication Technologies (ICT) by taking measures to forge an action plan that aims at putting technology at the service of human development.
Since Internet was introduced to Morocco in 1995, the number of users increased slowly, not because of government restrictions but due to the high costs, the absence of a national policy to promote Internet development and monopoly in the sector by Ittisalat Al Maghreb (IAM), Morocco's leading telecoms operator.

Statistics of Moroccan Internet use, at the time, showed that the number of subscribers was 8000 and the number of regular users was 12,000. It took Morocco 10 years to reach concrete results in increasing the number of Internet users.

According to the National Telecommunication Regulatory Agency (ANRT), the Moroccan IT market is progressing. The number of users rose from 102 610 in Dec. 2004 to 160 000 in June 2005, an increase of about 13% compared to last year's figures. More importantly, the number is likely to increase, as the Moroccan government is implementing an open policy for a free flow of information. A strategy to liberalise Internet access is part of this policy.

In March 2005, the regulator ANRT proposed new affordable tariffs to encourage access to the world of information aiming to reach the standard of emerging countries. Morocco aims to register three million Internet users, representing about 10% of the population. In 2010, Morocco intends to reach the standard of developed countries.

The number of mobile subscribers in Morocco is estimated to reach 10 million by the end of 2005, as a result of the competitive prices of the two operators (Meditel and Ittisalat Al Maghreb) and their new strategy targeting small traders, to encourage them to use mobile phones in their daily professional life.

The use of ICT remains very limited in rural areas. People are still travelling from the douar (hamlet), where the minimum infrastructure of telecommunication does not exist, to the nearest town to make a phone call. However, the advertising campaigns of the local operators to bridge the gap between rural and urban areas in terms of connectivity, is permitting individuals and marginalised groups to take advantage of the telecommunication revolution.

ICT offers potent tools to overcome obstacles faced by Moroccan women and girls, especially in rural areas. It bridges communication gaps by allowing women to access many opportunities without having to leave their homes, villages, or communities. There is a website called Virtual Souk, a project monitored by the World Bank Institute employing 775 poor artisans in Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon, and delivering 65-80% of the earned money to the artisans themselves.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has also launched a project providing digital opportunities through the dot-com alliance to bridge the gender digital divide in Morocco. The main objective of this initiative is to provide Moroccan women leaders, involved in politics, with computer training, focusing on using ICT for professional networking and advocacy. This will help them gain access to new education and training opportunities, thereby surmounting obstacles of distance, cost, and traditional seclusion or segregation.

ICT use in Morocco has increased due to the strong will of the government and initiatives taken by international organisations to introduce the Moroccan population to new technologies. Internet use is gradually expanding in the Kingdom as a result of the decreasing costs of Internet access. People who cannot afford to buy a computer can still connect from cyber cafés, especially in big cities. But those in rural areas are lagging behind and completely dependant on NGOs' projects. This is due to two main factors: the high costs of bridging the digital divide in all the different parts of the kingdom and the lack of funds.

Funds to support ICT use in countries like Morocco can be generated partially from the private sector. Big local companies are urged to launch projects with associations in marginalized parts of the country, to reduce the digital divide. They can take the form of programmes to introduce people to new technologies, or funds to provide computers for elementary schools.

By Hanane Boujemi

© Morocco Times 2005