Four companies have bid for the three third-generation (3G) mobile phone licenses Morocco is planning to sell as part of its plans to increase competition and liberalise the telecoms sector.
The National Agency for Telecoms Regulation (ANRT) said the four bidders are morocco's leading operatior Maroc Telecom, which is controlled by French media group Vivendi; local Maroc Connect company; Meditel, a joint venture between Spain's Telefonica and Portugal Teleco; and Nejma Telecom Maroc, a subsidiary of the Kuwaiti Wataniya telecoms group.
"The presence of the four operators in this tender process shows the interest and the potential of the Moroccan telecoms market, as well as the strategy adopted," said ANRT in a release.
The telecoms' watchdog underlined that it will soon announce the winners, who will have to pay MAD 360 million (USD 41.23 million) each, as soon as possible, although no precise date was given.
It added that the evaluation of the offers will be made on the basis of the bidder's infrastructure commitments, cover, quality of service, and diversity and cohesion of the offer.
The International Union of Telecommunication (IUT) issued last week a report showing that Morocco tops African countries in the field of telecommunications and information technology.
Titled "World Information Society Report 2006", the report ranked Morocco in the 78th position at the international level.
"Morocco's distinction at the African level is not fortuitous. It illustrates the development this highly strategic sector has actually witnessed over the last three years," said the Ministry in Charge of General and Economic Affairs in a communique.
© Morocco Times 2006
