Maroc Telecom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| MAROC TELECOM | |
 |
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| Type | Public (Euronext: EX), (NYSE: V) |
|---|---|
| Founded | Owned by Vivendi (51%) (2005) |
| Headquarters | Rabat, Morocco |
| Key people | Abdeslam Ahizoune, Chairman & CEO Arnaud Castille, CFO |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Products | Land line phones, Mobile phone lines, Internet access |
| Employees | 11,178 (2005) |
| Website | [1] |
Maroc Telecom (Arabic: اتصالاث المغرب; Ittisalat Al Maghrib; Acronym: IAM) 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.
IAM is controlled by Vivendi Universal which has a 51% share of its capital. The company is listed in both Casablanca Stock Exchange and Euronext Paris.
In June 1, 2006, IAM launched the Internet television package via the ADSL line. The service is the first of its kind in Africa and the Middle East.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] From postal services to telephony
The origin of IAM 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.
[edit] 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 the installating of a digital center in Fes.
Due to the advancement of Telecommunications around the globe, Morocco decided to created a new entity called ONPT (Office National des Postes et Télécommunications) 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.
[edit] Internet
The internet was introduced in Morocco by ONPT in 1995.
[edit] The birth of IAM
After the publication of a telecommunications' decree, Maroc Telecom (IAM) is founded in 1998.
[edit] Activities
IAM has three main activities:
[edit] Land lines
It consists os the provision of public phones throughout Morocco. The fixed park reaches 1,34 million lines.
[edit] Mobile phones
Mobile services are provided via a GSM network. Morocco Telecom counted 8,8 million customers at at the end of December 2005. Its network covers 97% of the Moroccan population.
[edit] Internet services
IAM provides over more than 9,700 kilometres of fibre optic cables. The park is around 320.000 lines. The service is commercialized under the Menara brand.
[edit] Projects and investments
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 was to upgrade the capacity of its services (i.e.broadband services, call centers...). The project costed the company € 26 million and was named "Atlas Offshore". [1]
