Telecoms company MTN has announced to its customers that Globacom network subscribers will not be able to make calls to MTN lines from Thursday, January 18, 2024, until the Nigerian-owned operator settles the interconnect fees debt it owes.
The statement from MTN wrote, “Following the directive from NCC, Glo subscribers will not be able to call you from January 18, 2024. Making calls to Glo subscribers is still allowed.”
According to sources close to the matter, the interconnect charges, which started over 15 years ago, have now accumulated into billions of naira, which MTN and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) can no longer ignore.
Glo Network, according to reports, owes NCC the Annual Operating Levy (AOL), and every operator pays it to NCC every year.
In early January, NCC, in a notice, said it had now approved the partial disconnection of Globacom from MTN Nigeria Communications Plc due to the non-settlement of interconnect charges. The regulator also said it had notified Globacom of the application made by MTN, and the network was allowed to comment and state its case.
“The commission, having examined the application and circumstances surrounding the indebtedness, determined that Globacom does not have sufficient or justifiable reason for non-payment of the interconnect charges,” said the NCC in a statement signed by Reuben Muoka, director, the Public Affairs Department, NCC.
