🇲🇦MoroccoNorth Africa
Free Max offer poised to transform Moroccan telecom market
via Le Matin6 min read
The introduction of "Free Max" has surprised the Moroccan telecom market. This offer, providing unlimited mobile internet in 135 countries including Morocco, marks a new competitive phase, according to IT and telecom expert Khalid Ziani. While technologically unchanged, Ziani states it represents a "true revolution" commercially, particularly concerning data roaming. Previously, travelers to Morocco typically deactivated mobile data, purchased a local SIM, and subscribed to limited-duration and volume top-ups. Free Max disrupts this by allowing subscribers to use their plan without changing numbers, duration constraints, or volume limits. Ziani estimates that out of 6 million French visitors to Morocco annually, approximately one-third, or 1.5 to 2 million people, could become Free customers. This shift challenges the economic model of Moroccan operators, for whom roaming has been a significant revenue source. Ziani describes roaming as a "cash cow" for Moroccan operators, noting their historical reluctance to enter international roaming agreements, unlike countries such as Tunisia or Senegal. He believes this "protected territory" is now open. An agreement between Free and the three Moroccan operators involves wholesale billing for data consumption, making roaming significantly cheaper. Ziani suggests this could lead to a potential 20% loss in total roaming revenue from Free customers upon launch. He anticipates a domino effect, with other French and international operators
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by Le Matin.
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