Telecoms: the reduction of certain tariffs in sight?

The National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency is working on a project to audit the costs of the three operators. But not only ! On their products and results, also, for the 2019 to 2021 financial years. What can this change for the end consumer?

Will consumers of Moroccan telecom services, in the months or even weeks to come, benefit from a reduction in certain tariffs applied by the three telecom operators? In any case, in the current context marked by the erosion of household purchasing power, a decision in this direction could only be well received. The news on the subject comes from the National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ANRT).

The regulator has just launched a call for tenders relating to a regulatory audit of the costs, products and results applied by the three telecom operators for the 2019 to 2021 financial years (AO n° 04/2022). If for the moment, we remain a little unsatisfied with regard to the details of this public contract, we can already indicate that this call for tenders specifies that the contract, allotted in three lots, concerns the national operators, namely Itissalat Al-Maghrib (IAM-lot n°1), Medi Telecom (Orange Maroc-lot n°2) and Wana (Inwi-lot n°3).

Contacted by Les Inspirations Éco on the subject, an expert in the field explains to us that “these audits are carried out annually, in accordance with law n°24-96 on telecoms and decree n°2-97-1026 of February 25, 1998. The audit of operators is a regulatory tool, and this, in all countries where there is a telecom regulator”. Another expert returns to the lack of visibility. “I would have liked to have the detailed content of the AO”.

However, he goes on to explain the merits of these audits. “Overall, the role of the ANRT on the regulatory level is to carry out these audits with the operators who have a preponderant role on the market. Unfortunately, with the exception of Maroc Telecom, which has a stock market obligation to publish its activity indicators, the other two do not,” he reacts. And to increase the stakes and the added value of this audit.

Indeed, what could the results of this control on the management and operating conditions of the three telecom operators change concretely for the Moroccan consumer? And our source explains that “on the basis of the results of regulatory audits (analytical cost accounting), the ANRT may have to take decisions to lower interconnection tariffs, for example, with a consequent impact on offers for end customers. Indeed, the decision to allocate this or that cost to the fixed or mobile network can have repercussions, depending on the strategy of each operator. This is where the role of the ANRT comes in”.

Not long ago, the three operators lowered their interconnection rates!
In Les Inspirations Éco n°3096 of Wednesday May 11, 2022, we explained that such audits resulted, on April 1, in the second reduction in interconnection tariffs in Maroc Telecom’s fixed (new generation) and mobile networks. , Orange Maroc and Inwi, since the beginning of 2022 (the third in a row since December 2020). For the consumer, this has translated into more affordable offerings in the voice market.

By lowering the interconnection tariffs, the ANRT hopes to stimulate competition between the three national operators, by encouraging the launch of more competitive offers, in particular for voice termination. According to the regulator, this decision is due to the fact that the levels of interconnection tariffs applied in Morocco would be higher (+42% with regard to mobile networks) than the average observed in European countries. In addition, the regulator noted that the Voice segment requires new actions in order to be revitalized, given that it has experienced drops in traffic due to the use of alternative applications, in particular WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Facebook, FaceTime …

Modeste Kouamé / ECO Inspirations