The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has granted MTN Nigeria the authority to disconnect Exchange Telecommunications Limited from its network. In a public notice issued by the telecom regulator on Friday, it was revealed that the disconnection notice was a result of Exchange Telecoms’ failure to settle its interconnect charges.
Exchange Telecoms is responsible for facilitating the interconnection of calls and data traffic both locally and internationally. It is currently connected to all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to perform this function. The disconnection implies that Exchange Telecoms will no longer be able to route MTN calls and data traffic to other networks. However, the NCC assured that MTN would switch to alternative channels following the disconnection.
No Justification for Indebtedness
The NCC highlighted that Exchange Telecoms was notified about MTN’s application for disconnection and was given the opportunity to comment and present its case. Despite this, the NCC concluded that the company had no valid reason for failing to pay the interconnect charges.
The NCC in the notice signed by its Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Reuben Muoka, stated:
The Commission, after examining the application and the circumstances surrounding the indebtedness, determined that Exchange does not have sufficient reason for non-payment of the interconnect charges.
The public is, therefore, requested to take notice that: The Commission has approved the disconnection of Exchange from MTN in accordance with Section 100 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, and the Guidelines on Procedure for Granting Approval to Disconnect Telecommunications Operators, 2012.
At the expiration of five (5) days from the date of this notice, MTN will cease passing voice and data traffic through Exchange and will subsequently utilize alternative channels for interconnecting with other Network Service Providers. Please note that this disconnection will remain in effect until otherwise determined by the Commission.
What You Should Know
Earlier this year, the NCC issued a similar disconnection notice concerning MTN and Globacom. In that instance, MTN was granted approval to implement a partial disconnection of Globacom due to its refusal to pay interconnect debt.
Globacom was given a 10-day pre-disconnection notice. However, upon the expiration of the 10 days, the Commission announced that the two MNOs had reached an agreement, and there was no longer a need for disconnection.
- Interconnect rate refers to the price that telecommunications operators pay each other for calls terminating on their networks.
- Exchange Telecoms acts as an intermediary between telecom operators to connect their calls and data traffic and collect charges, part of which is to be paid to the networks where the traffic is terminating.
- On its website, Exchange Telecoms claims to be the only carrier currently transiting international calls originating from all MNO networks in Nigeria to A-Z destinations abroad.
- The company states that it terminates over 100 million international minutes into Nigeria monthly and transits outbound calls from Nigeria to all locations worldwide.
