By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Tope Olaiya
Published on 2024-01-18 08:53:26
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced that both MTN and Globacom have reached an agreement to resolve the interconnect debt issue that was set to result in disconnection today, as the 10-day pre-disconnection notice issued by the Commission lapsed. In a statement signed by Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Mouka, the NCC revealed that the disconnection has been put on hold for a period of 21 days starting from January 17th, 2024, during which the debt issue is expected to be fully resolved.
Last week, the telecoms regulator had approved a partial disconnection of Globacom by MTN over its refusal to pay interconnect debt. This would have resulted in Glo network being partially disconnected from the MTN network, preventing Glo subscribers from making calls to any MTN number, although they would still be able to receive inbound calls from MTN customers.
According to Muoka, “the Commission is pleased to announce that the parties have now reached an agreement to resolve all outstanding issues between them. For this reason, and in the exercise of its regulatory powers in that regard, the Commission has put the phased disconnection on hold for a period of 21 days from today, January 17, 2024. Whilst the Commission expects MTN and Glo to resolve all outstanding issues within the 21-day period, the Commission insists that interconnect debts must be settled by all operating companies as a necessary component towards compliance with regulatory obligations of all licensees.”
The issue of interconnect debt has been a major challenge in the industry, with the former Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta, stating in 2020 that the debt figure was over N70 billion, and that it was threatening the operators’ ability to expand their infrastructure for better quality service. The NCC emphasizes the importance of MNOs and other licensees in the telecom industry adhering to the terms and conditions of their licenses, especially in regards to interconnection agreements.
Read the original article on The Guardian
