Interconnectivity: NCC grants Globacom 21 days extension

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has suspended the phased disconnection of Globacom from the MTN network for a period of 21 days.

This is contained in a statement issued by NCC Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Reuben Muoka, on Thursday in Abuja.

Muoka said the commission expects MTN and Glo to resolve all outstanding issues within the 21-day period given.

He said the NCC insists that interconnect debts must be settled by all operating companies as a necessary component towards compliance with the regulatory obligations of all licensees.

“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 exercise of its regulatory powers in that regard, the Commission has put the phased disconnection on hold for a period of 21 (twenty-one) days from today.

“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 the regulatory obligations of all licensees.

“It is obligatory that Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and other licensees in the telecom industry keep to the terms and conditions of their licences, especially as contained in their interconnection agreements,” he said.

Supreme News reports that the commission had earlier given a pre-disconnection notice to inform subscribers of the approval granted to MTN to disconnect Globacom with effect from January 18.

The disconnection is due to long-standing interconnection debt dispute between the parties.

Supreme News reports that the NCC, on Jan. 8, approved MTN’s request to partially disconnect Glo from its network over unpaid interconnect charges.

The partial disconnection means that Globacom’s subscribers will be unable to place calls to any MTN number but can receive calls from MTN users.