Orange Maroc and Ericsson have announced a partnership to co-develop private 5G solutions for the enterprise sector in Morocco, formalised at GITEX Africa 2026 in Marrakech.
Under the agreement, Ericsson will provide a complete private 5G network platform — including its radio and 5G core products — to be deployed in Orange Maroc’s 5G Lab, creating a controlled environment for enterprise demonstrations, testing, and validation. Ericsson envisages the facility developing a catalogue of B2B use cases, with the goal of proving the commercial viability of 5G technology for industrial and institutional players.
Target sectors span logistics, utilities and energy, as well as connectivity for mining, ports, and other strategic operations. Orange Maroc, which holds a 5G licence it acquired for 600 million Moroccan dirhams, is positioning itself as an integrated ICT operator capable of combining 5G connectivity with cloud, edge computing, and cybersecurity offerings for enterprise clients.
The announcement comes as Morocco’s 5G enterprise market heats up on multiple fronts. Moroccan operator inwi simultaneously announced what it described as the country’s first private 5G network for industrial use — deployed for one of Africa’s largest factories, a 52-hectare industrial site in Morocco’s Oriental region — in partnership with China Mobile International. Morocco officially launched its 5G networks in November 2025, with all three operators — Maroc Telecom, Orange Maroc, and inwi — activating services simultaneously. Under licence terms, operators must cover 45% of the population by end of 2026 and 85% by 2030, as part of the Digital Morocco 2030 strategy backed by MAD 80 billion in planned investment through 2035.
