THE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has suspended its planned disconnection of Globam (Glo) subscribers from calling MTN lines.
According to NCC, the suspension is temporary and will last 21 days.
The NCC disclosed this in a statement signed by its director of public affairs, Reuben Mouka, and made available to journalists on Thursday, January 18.
Muoka said the commission expected MTN and Glo to resolve all outstanding issues within 21 days.
“The commission is pleased to announce that the parties have now agreed to resolve all outstanding issues between them. For this reason, and in exercising its regulatory powers in that regard, the commission has put the phased disconnection on hold for 21 days from today, January 17, 2024.
“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,” the NCC stated.
The ICIR reported on January 8 that the NCC approved MTN’s request to partially disconnect Glo from its network over unpaid interconnect charges.
The partial disconnection means that Globacom’s subscribers cannot place calls to any MTN number but can receive calls from MTN users.
A memo titled ‘Pre-Disconnection Notice,’ and signed by the NCC spokesperson, Muoka, on Monday, January 8, stated that development followed Glo’s failure to settle its outstanding debts despite repeated attempts at resolution.
After reviewing the application and the circumstances relating to the indebtedness, the commission said that Globacom lacked significant or justifiable reasons for failing to pay the interconnect charges.
Part of the statement reads, “All subscribers are, therefore, requested to take notice that the commission has approved the partial disconnection of Globacom to MTN by Section 100 of the Nigerian Communications Act (2003) and Paragraph Nine of the Guidelines on Procedure for Granting Approval to Disconnect Telecommunications Operators (2012).
“At the expiration of 10 days from January 8, 2024, subscribers of Globacom will no longer be able to make calls to MTN but will be able to receive calls.”
A reporter with the ICIR
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