The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has approved a partial disconnection of Globacom by MTN, over Globacom’s refusal to pay interconnect debt.
The NCC disclosed this in a public notice issued on Monday.
According to the telecom regulator, Globacom has been given a 10-day notice starting from January 8, after which the disconnection will be implemented.
When implemented, Globacom subscribers will be unable to call any MTN number but can receive inbound calls from MTN customers.
The notice read in part: “All subscribers are, therefore, requested to TAKE NOTICE that: The Commission has approved the Partial Disconnection of Globacom to MTN in accordance with Section 100 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, and Paragraph 9 of the Guidelines on Procedure for Granting Approval to Disconnect Telecommunications Operators, 2012.
“At the expiration of 10 (ten) days from the date of this notice, subscribers of Globacom will no longer be able to make calls to MTN but will be able to RECEIVE CALLS. The Partial Disconnection, however, will allow inbound calls to the Globacom network. Please note that this disconnection will subsist until otherwise determined by the Commission.”
In 2020, former Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta, put the interconnect debt figure at over N70 billion, a situation he said has been threatening the operators’ capacity to expand their infrastructure for better quality service.
He had at the time, noted that the interconnect debt was “a big challenge to infrastructure expansion and inimical to healthy competition” which are needed for facilitating the digital economy in Nigeria.
