Many sources have confirmed that all VoIP service has been shut down in Morocco, and many are pointing the finger at Maroc Telecom, an Internet and phone service provider, as the malefactor behind this brash move. Many believe that eliminating VoIP is just one step in Maroc Telecom’s strategy to monopolize the market.
After combing through numerous Facebook (News - Alert) postings, sources such as TNW estimate that the strategy to shut down all of Morocco’s’ VoIP must have started over a week ago, for it was around that time that Moroccans began posting that they were encountering problems with Skype (News - Alert), TeamSpeak and Vibers.
But all of the dropped calls and fuzzy connections could not have prepared a nation with a significant population of Skype users for what was to come next: The end of all VoIP service in Morocco.
The Moroccan Geeks are a popular source to many who are following this story. The Geeks have blogged that they are confident that Maroc Telecom is behind the VoIP shutdown, and many sources are siding with the Geeks in alleging that Maroc Telecom’s ambitions to launch their own VoIP service named MTBOX was the motive behind the scandal.
Maroc Telecom’s past attempts at dominating the Moroccan phone market have been described as “predatory” by Morocco Board News. The same source reveals that Maroc Telecom is a subsidiary of the French company, Vivendi (News - Alert), and that ever since Vivendi bought Maroc Telecom, the company has been a major “cash cow.” Maroc Telecom’s exploitation of the Moroccan market is not limited to phone service because Maroc Telecom also serves as the default internet service provider to a vast majority.
So no more Skype, no more Google (News - Alert) Voice and no more anything except Maroc Telecom -- and no more customer service awards to Moroccan telecom providers -- even if there is only one left.