Gom Mirian
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced the suspension of its planned barring of Glo subscribers from calling MTN lines for 21 days.
This decision comes after the commission issued a Pre-Disconnection Notice on January 8, 2024, stating that MTN would begin disconnecting Glo’s services starting from January 18, 2024, due to an ongoing interconnection debt dispute.
In a statement released on Thursday, the NCC revealed that an agreement had been reached between the two parties to resolve all outstanding issues.
As a result, the commission has exercised its regulatory powers by putting the phased disconnection on hold for 21 days, starting from January 17, 2024. However, the NCC emphasised that interconnect debts must be settled by all operating companies to comply with regulatory obligations.
“Whilst the commission expects MTN and Glo to resolve all outstanding issues within the 21 days, 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.”
Earlier, the NCC had stated that it would guide Globacom subscribers regarding the next steps after the 10-day grace period for barring their lines from making calls to MTN lines expired.
Reuben Mouka, Director of Public Affairs at the NCC, stated that the information would be made available in the next few hours.
The dispute between MTN and Glo centers around the interconnect charge, which is the fee telecom operators pay each other for calls terminating on their networks.
In 2019, MTN disconnected Glo subscribers temporarily due to an N4 billion debt related to this charge.
This temporary suspension of the planned disconnection will provide an opportunity for MTN and Glo to resolve their financial disputes and work towards a mutually beneficial agreement.
