MTN Nigeria gets regulatory approval to disconnect Globacom over Interconnect debt

MTN Nigeria has been granted approval by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to partially disconnect Globacom due to non-settlement of interconnect charges. The approval was contained in a public notice issued by the apex regulatory body dated January 8 2024 and signed by Reuben Mouka, Director Public Affairs department.

Even though Globacom was notified of MTN’s application for the disconnection, there was no action from the company hence NCC has given Globacom 10 days to act else disconnection takes effect. This means that subscribers of Globacom will no longer be able to make calls to MTN but will be able to RECEIVE CALLS.

Here is the public notice:

“The Nigerian Communications Commission hereby notifies the public and subscribers of Globacom Limited (Globacom) that approval has been granted for the partial disconnection of Globacom from MIN Nigeria Communications Plc. (MTN), due to non-settlement of interconnect charges. 

“Globacom was notified of the application made by MTN and 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. 

“All subscribers are, therefore, requested to TAKE NOTICE that:

1. The Commission has approved the Partial Disconnection of Globacom to MTN in accordance with Section 100 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, and Paragraph 9 of the Guidelines on Procedure for Granting Approval to Disconnect Telecommunications Operators, 2012. 
2. “At the expiration of 10 (ten) days from the date of this notice, subscribers of Globacom will no longer be able to make calls to MTN but will be able to RECEIVE CALLS.
3. The Partial Disconnection, however, will allow inbound calls to the Globacom network.

Please note that this disconnection will subsist until otherwise determined by the Commission.” 

As per recent subscriber data from NCC (August 2023), MTN has the highest number of subscribers with 85 million subscribers (38.38%). Globacom comes in second with 61.39 million subscribers (27.86%).