"Of 33 firms which have expressed interest in our new generation of fixed-line phone licences, three groups have made four bids," a spokesperson for telecommunications regulator ANRT said.

The spokesperson said the groups are headed by Telefonica's Moroccan subsidiary Meditelecom, Orascom Telecom Maroc and local firm Maroc Connect.

"Only two groups will be selected," he added.

ANRT was seeking bids for up to six local loops, two long-distance licenses and two international licenses as part of a government effort to liberalise the telecommunications sector. The new licenses will end the fixed-line monopoly of Maroc Telecom.

Morocco’s fixed-line penetration rate is less than 5%. The government hopes that liberalisation would repeat the success of the 1999 sale of a 15-year mobile license to Meditelecom for US$ 1.1 billion. The number of mobile subscribers has since risen to about 10 million.

Source: Reuters