The development of broadband and ultra-broadband is the first priority set in the general guidelines for the development of the telecommunications sector by 2023, said, Wednesday in Rabat, Head of Government Saad Dine El Otmani.

According to a statement from the Presidency of the Government, El Otmani, who chaired the Board of Directors of the National Agency for Telecommunications Regulation (ANRT), expressed his aspiration to see the telecommunications sector in Morocco as one of the main levers for bridging the digital divide and reducing social and spatial disparities.

He has, to this end, recalled that the general guidelines for the development of this sector provides coverage of the entire national territory with a broadband of at least two megabits by 2023. An objective is in line with the conclusions of the Ad-hoc Committee on the development model, which recommended the generalization of broadband Internet access in all regions of the Kingdom, especially areas with high economic activity, added El Otmani. The Head of Government also invited the ANRT to implement a national plan of optical connection to cover, before the end of 2025, not less than 50% of Moroccan households with very high speed fiber optic services reaching at least 100 megabits per second.

In addition, El Otmani highlighted the significant contribution of the telecommunications sector to secure and ensure the continuity of services and transactions during the crisis of the new coronavirus (Covid-19), noting that the use of means and services of communication, especially the Internet whose use has increased by 55% compared to the same period before the pandemic, has mitigated the impact of this crisis.