One of the findings of the latest ANRT analysis concerns the accelerated decline in the use of mobile telephony, both in terms of total traffic and average usage per user. Especially during the year 2024 when outgoing mobile telephony traffic increased to 11.77 billion minutes, compared to 50.01 billion minutes in 2023 and 53.47 billion in 2022.
From 55.68 billion minutes in 2020 to only 11.77 billion after the first nine months of 2024, outgoing mobile telephony traffic continues to erode in Morocco where annual declines are noted among the three operators. This is, implicitly, what emerges from the latest analysis of the evolution of the fixed, mobile and Internet markets issued by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ANRT).
And, precisely, one of the points which deserves to be noted for this year, in comparison with other years, concerns the continuous and above all accelerated decline in the use of mobile telephony, both in terms of total traffic than average usage per user.
As a result, during the year 2024, we note that outgoing mobile telephony traffic increased to 11.77 billion minutes during the third quarter of the year 2024, an annual decrease of 10.29%, against 50.01 billion during the year 2023 and 53.47 billion during the year 2022. At the same time, the average monthly outgoing usage is down by 11.6% over a year and stands at just 70 minutes at the end of September 2024.
The mobile Internet base continues its dynamism
In comparison with other years, it is clear that outgoing traffic was 55.68 billion minutes during the year 2020, a decrease of 1.17% compared to 2019 compared to 55.67 billion during the year. year 2021, almost stagnant compared to 2020 (-0.03%) and 53.47 billion minutes during the year 2022, decreasing by 3.95% compared to 2021. It was from the year 2023 that outgoing traffic began its dizzying fall. That year it stood at 50.01 billion minutes, down 6.47% compared to 2022.
At the same time, the average monthly outgoing usage decreased by 10.3% over one year and stood at 76 minutes at the end of 2023 compared to 103 in 2019 and 99 minutes in 2020. Another important observation: the maintenance of the upward curve of the mobile Internet base. The number of subscribers, which was 35.61 million in the first quarter of 2024, increased to 36.46 million in the 2nd quarter, then 39.42 million at the end of September 2024. This development represents an annual increase of 6.47 % in the third quarter of 2024 compared to 6.79% in Q2 and 7.23% in Q1.
In detail, the number of 4G users recorded, according to the ANRT, an annual increase of 10.45%, or more than 3.41 million users to reach 36.09 million at the end of September 2024. In comparison with the last two quarters of the same year, it is clear that the number of users of 4G networks showed an annual and constant increase of around 6.3 million compared to the end of June 2023, to reach 32.98 million at the end of June 2024, and an increase of 3.39 million compared to the end of March 2023, which made it possible to reach 31.86 million at the end of March 2024.
Concerning the ADSL base (including the unbundled base), it amounts to 1.58 million subscribers at the end of September 2024, an increase of 1.13% over one year. In figures, 69.63% of ADSL accesses are at speeds of 8 MB/s and above, while the number of unbundled lines represents 38.49% of the overall ADSL Internet base. Regarding optical fiber, at the end of September 2024, the FTTH base stood at 989,640 subscriptions, recording an increase of 27.87% over one year compared to 952,800 subscriptions at the end of June, recording an increase of 30.53% over a year, while the TDD and BLR parks stood at 139,085 subscriptions compared to 147,600 subscriptions at the end of June 2024.
60.29 million subscriptions
Furthermore, the mobile base reached 60.29 million subscriptions, recording an annual increase of 5.23%, or 3 million subscriptions/subscriptions compared to 56.84 million subscriptions, in the second quarter, which recorded an increase annual growth of 5.04%, or 2.73 million subscriptions/subscriptions.
As a result, the mobile telephony penetration rate is 161.34% at the end of September 2024 compared to 152.1% at the end of June 2024. Following the same trend, the prepaid mobile fleet amounts to 52.72 million subscriptions, recording an annual increase of 4.7%, while the post-paid mobile base stands at 7.57 million subscribers, marking an increase of 9.1% over one year, or more than 631,500 subscriptions at the end of September 2024.
In total, outgoing mobile telephony traffic is 11.77 billion minutes during the third quarter of 2024, an annual decrease of 10.29%.
Yassine Saber / ECO Inspirations
