The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has confirmed that Globacom subscribers will not be disconnected from calling MTN lines.
In a statement released on Thursday night, the commission announced the amicable resolution of the dispute between MTN Nigeria Communications Plc. and Globacom Limited.
As a result of this development, the disconnection approval granted to MTN for disconnecting Globacom has been withdrawn.
Prior to this resolution, 61.54 million mobile subscriptions on Glo’s network were at risk of being disconnected from making calls to MTN.
The NCC had notified the public in January that Glo subscribers would be barred from making calls to MTN lines if Glo did not settle its interconnect charges. The announcement from the NCC comes after a 21-day grace period given to Glo to resolve its debt issue with MTN expired on January 17, 2024.
This resolution brings an end to a long-standing disagreement between the two telecom companies. The NCC emphasized the importance of strict adherence to the terms and conditions of licenses, particularly those outlined in interconnection agreements, for all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and other licensees in the telecommunications industry.
To prevent similar disputes in the future, the NCC has requested that MNOs submit relevant records and regular updates, adopting a transparent approach towards industry indebtedness.
The commission’s commitment to fostering a stable and compliant telecommunications ecosystem in Nigeria was reiterated in the statement. The resolution of the outstanding debt issues between MTN and Glo was reported on Wednesday, with an agreement reached and payment made to settle the debt.
Interconnect charge, which caused the disagreement between the two telcos, refers to the price a telecom operator pays to other operators for calls made to its network.
In 2019, Glo subscribers were briefly disconnected from MTN over a N4bn debt.
With the resolution of this dispute, subscribers of both MTN and Glo can continue to make calls between the two networks without any interruption.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
