Frustration for Glo Subscribers as NCC Okays Partial Disconnection by MTN

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has approved a partial disconnection of Globacom by MTN over the former’s alleged refusal to pay interconnectivity debt.

Telcos settle interconnect bills through clearing houses approved and licensed by the NCC. The bills are generated from charges for calls from a particular network that terminate on another network.

In a notice on Monday, the regulator said Globacom, owned by the Ogun State-born billionaire businessman, Mr Mike Adenuga, has been given a 10-day notice starting from January 8 to make amends, after which the disconnection will be implemented.

The partial disconnection means that Globacom’s subscribers will not be able to make calls to any MTN number.

However, Glo customers can receive inbound calls from MTN customers.

This development will not be palatable to millions of Glo subscribers in the country as the telecommunications regulator says that the disconnection will subsist until otherwise determined by the commission.

The NCC’s guidelines on the procedure for approving to disconnect telecommunications operators state that a pre-disconnection notice must be given to the public and to the subscribers of the operator that is to be disconnected. The notice must state the reason for the disconnection and the date it will take effect.

This means that if Globacom does not fulfil its obligations by January 18, the disbarment will begin.

This is not the first time that the NCC has approved a partial disconnection of a telecommunications operator in Nigeria. In 2019, the commission approved Airtel Networks Limited to partially disconnect Globacom from its network for the same reason.

MTN had earlier in the same year (2019) laid the same claim and threatened to cut off the network but saw an intervention from the NCC.

The NCC only decides to disconnect a telecommunications operator as a  last resort after all measures to make the erring party fulfil its deal fail.

The agency added that it is committed to protecting the interests of consumers and that it will continue to work to ensure that all telecommunications operators in Nigeria meet their obligations.