Internet and phone connection in Morocco

[dommiek]

I'm planning to visit Morocco in April and after becoming frustrated with the internet cafes on a trip 2 years ago, have decided to buy a smart phone to access the internet and for use in emergencies.
I'll be mainly south of the Atlas around Merzouga, Zagora, Ouarzazate, and west to Sidi Ifni and Assa.

I don't need a lot of time on the internet, no more than an hour a day just to check and send e-mails and to look on the HUBB.

What's the best sim card to use considering the areas I'll be in?
How near to the towns will I need to be to pick up a signal?
Has WiFi taken on in the cafes and hotels?
What's the cost to access the web using a sim card?

Lots of Q's I know !

[TheWarden]

I use my iphone for web browsing but only via free wifi. Connection speeds aren't great anywhere particularly but enough for email and the hubb

security on wifi isn't great so you can normally find somewhere to connect even if it isn't intended to be public

[Rafke]

Don’t know which operator will be best for the region you’re going to visit, but in general 3G coverage is good in the cities and you’ll even be surprised sometimes to here your mail tone where you wouldn’t think internet was already invented.

WiFi is certainly growing fast especially in hotels and guesthouses, and as TheWarden states you’ll find it also on the street. I know people that open their wifi deliberately so others can enjoy it. Look for groups of young people with their phones hanging around a house.


I use Méditel because of their best coverage (in Laayoune, far from where you go) and ease of use (no special settings in iphone required), they charge 80DH for one month. Other operators should handle similar pricing.

[twenty4seven]

I've never used a phone for internet, but I've used a dongle for a few trips now.

I use Moroc Telecom and I'm happy with the coverage.

This Thread may help with settings for a phone, Addie is a member on here btw.

[dommiek]

Thanks for that link Twenty4seven, interesting reading
Dk

[pera]

Maroc Telecom has the best coverage in Morocco. I´ve tried 3G but it´s only available in great cities.

There are public wifi´s everywhere, take a look at the "cafes" most of them have public wifi

[twenty4seven]

I don't have any experience of phones, like I said.

Using a Laptop and dongle on a 3m USB extension cable, I get 3G in many places good enough to Skype with Video, sadly I guess I even know where

Some examples,

Zagora, Foum Zguid, Tagounite, Tata, Azrou, Aglou plage, Moulay Bousselham

[bobn]

Hi there,
I just got back on Sunday and visited all the places you mention including the coast road down to Dakhla. You say you are going to buy a smartphone. I would highly recommend getting a chinese copy of a Samsung Note 2 (£120 and comes with a spare case and battery) on Amazon or any unlocked smartphone with TWO sim card slots. Then get a WorldSim card and fit that together with your local sim card. When away, make all calls etc via your WorldSim card and it will connect to the strongest signal available (Maroc Telecom probably) completely automatically. You use your ordinary dialing numbers ie no country codes required and it works all over the world (its pay as you go with internet or voice call topups).
Worked all over Morocco for me and in places more remote than you are considering.
Bye the way, if you make it to Assa, there is only one hotel, basic but clean, only they do not do food (ANY food, even breakfast) so take some with you (250DM per night).
Strange to have wifi but no food, it's usually the other way round.
Wifi free in every hotel I stayed in and NO passwords required anywhere. Never needed an internet cafe.

[wonkyd]

Remember guys ..... free wifi is available in most cities if you go to McDonalds ...... you only need to buy a coffee or 2 and sit in and you're sorted

Have used the McDonalds at Gueliz myself several times

[TheWarden]

yeah but Macdonalds is rubbish compared to a traditional cafe, and there aren't many/any south of the Atlas

[wonkyd]

I know that mate but as a last ditch attempt if you're near a city it's a good fall back position :-)

[bokad]

I bought a Maroc Telecom prepaid SIM and I've been happy with it.
I haven't found any sort of English menus or voice prompts though, french and arabic only. The guy at the teleboutique or maroc telecom shop can do the initial setup of APN and whatnot for you.
Note that there are separate credit balances for voice vs data so when you add credit to the phone you need to specify if you want it to go towards data (internet access) or else it will go to voice.

Accueil - Portail Maroc Telecom - Portail Maroc Telecom

To add credit to your phone buy a Maroc Telecom scratch card from any teleboutique. You can add credit to the phone by voice or by SMS.

Voice:
Call 555 then selection menu option 1 then enter the code from the back of the recharge card. Put "*3" at the end of the code if you want the credit to go to your internet access.

SMS:
Send an SMS to 555 with the code from the back of the recharge card.
Put "*3" at the end of the code if you want the credit to go to your internet access.

You should almost instantly get an SMS confirmation about the transaction and new balance.

You can check your balance (voice and data) by calling 580. Hope you understand french or arabic. Sometimes it has worked for me to send a blank or single character sms to 580 and I will get an SMS response with the balance. Doesn't always work though.

A 10 dirham recharge will get you 1 day of internet access. 50 dirham recharge will get you 10 days.

Coverage is pretty good.

On my phone the vendor had for some reason set "network mode" to WCDMA only and I found that sometimes there was no service in places where other people had connection. So I reset it to "GSM/WCDMA (Auto)" and it was better.

I've noticed wifi access to become more common and have found open access points at several restaurants and Ziz gas stations.

[John A]

Originally Posted by TheWarden

yeah but Macdonalds is rubbish compared to a traditional cafe, and there aren't many/any south of the Atlas

Sounds like a good reason to head south

And the emoticon is relevant as well if you look at the letters that make it up