How to make phone calls in Morocco
During your stay in Morocco, you will certainly wish to keep in touch with friends and family. To do so, you can subscribe to a landline phone or buy a mobile phone. However, international call charges can be quite expensive in comparison with other countries in the region. Make sure to compare prices from different mobile operators before making your choice. This article will give you more information on these options.
Getting a landline in Morocco
To subscribe to a landline in Morocco, go to the phone operator's local office along with your identification documents, namely your identity card, your passport, or your resident card. Proof of residency and a deposit may be required. The process will usually take 2 to 3 days maximum. Operators usually have attractive packages at competitive prices. Although landlines are generally for local calls, you can buy prepaid international calling cards at most local shops. You may subscribe for high-speed home internet as well, and get a special priced package from most companies
Good to know:
To call from Morocco to another country, you must dial "00" followed by the country code and number you want without the initial "0". For example, for a call to the United Kingdom, you must dial "00" followed by "44" and the number without the initial "0".
Mobile phones in Morocco
If you are making a short trip to Morocco, consider activating international roaming on your mobile phone. If you plan to stay for a while, you will need to unlock your phone before your arrival in the country and buy a Moroccan SIM card. You can use your mobile phone with prepaid cards which will allow you to pay by the minute, and that often have promotions offering extra minutes or unlimited calls for a period of time. Prices range up from 5 Dh.
You may also subscribe for a monthly package, but prices can be high compared to the packages. Most people in Morocco prefer prepaid, as it offers more interesting options.
Internet calls in Morocco
If you have an unlimited internet home subscription, you can make internet calls at your convenience. The quality depends on the network but generally tends to be good. Keep in mind that not all company have network. So if you rely on internet speed and plan to move around the country, your best choice would be Maroc Telecom. Overall, in all urban areas and major cities, the network quality is decent.
Procedures
To buy a SIM card, you'll have to call at the company's closest store and fill out a form which you'll have to present with some piece of identity. You can also buy a SIM card from any grocery store, and in downtown areas, you may even find street sellers in telecom companies' uniforms, from whom you can buy one without presenting a piece of identity.
Service providers in Morocco
There are 3 main service providers in Morocco: Maroc Telecom, Inwi and Orange. MT is the leading telecom operator and has the best quality. Their most popular packages are home internet (with or without a landline), and prices start from around 200 Dh per month. Inwi is better for mobile as it provides interesting internet packages with good speed (prices start from 5 Dh). Orange offers interesting packages as well, but many complain about their network quality.
Good to know:
You can buy prepaid cards from any store. When loading a card, you may choose to load your internet package, calls, texts or a combination. You can also more flexible offers on the companies' websites.
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