HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM’S CREATION
Morocco was among countries which had introduced the first communication technologies since the organization of the modern postal service of the Moroccan State (Makhzen) by King Moulay Hassan 1st in 1892 until now. Morocco was among the first countries to introduce telecommunications technologies: like the optical and electrical telegraph, the first telephone line in 1883 in Tangier, automatic telephone exchange in 1932, the first satellite connexion in 1968, electronic telephone exchange in 1973, optical fibre in 1989 and the first GSM in 1994.
So, the creation of a museum dedicated to the history of telecommunications will help to save our rich heritage related to telecommunications. This idea dates back to the early 1980s when the telecommunications sector in Morocco began to have profound changes in technology. At that time, Morocco has chosen to enter the digital era, and therefore phase out the electromechanical technology.
However, the actual realization of this idea did not begin until early 1996. Initially, this operation focused on collecting materials and old equipment for telecommunications from different regions in Morocco (telegraph, telephones, telephone exchanges, terminals, tools ...) This allowed coming into direct contact with the various regional telecommunication structures in Morocco which helped identify obsolete equipment that will make the backbone of the museum collection.
Then it comes time for the operation of literature research on the history of telecommunications in Morocco. This step put us in touch with the National Library and Archives in Rabat, the Royal Archives, the Archives of Nantes in France and the archives of Telefonica Foundation in Spain.
Indeed, September 24, 2001 the first museum was opened to the public after the inauguration ceremony, which was attended by several national and foreign personalities.
From 1 November 2012, the museum was closed so as to change its location to the new headquarters of Morocco Telecom. The inauguration of the new Maroc Telecom museum was made by His Majesty King Mohammed VI on June 17, 2013.
The area dedicated to the new museum has more than doubled, this extension allows us to develop an educational trail through a modern scenography specifically designed to offer a practical and comprehensive framework for understanding the telecommunication revolution.
