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In a recent development, Globacom (Glo), a prominent Nigerian telecom company, has been given an additional 21 days to address and settle outstanding interconnect fees owed to MTN, thereby avoiding the phased disconnection initially planned by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
A press statement from the NCC conveyed the positive news, stating, “The Commission is pleased to announce that the parties have now reached an agreement to resolve all outstanding issues between them. The Commission expects MTN and Glo to resolve all outstanding issues within the 21 days.”
The NCC had issued a disconnection notice to Glo on January 8, allowing MTN to disconnect Glo subscribers due to accumulated unpaid interconnect fees. Glo’s outstanding fees to MTN were reported to be approximately ₦6 billion ($6.7 million), with the standard interconnect fee for local calls in Nigeria set at ₦4.30k per minute.
Had the phased disconnection proceeded, Glo’s 61.39 million subscribers would have been unable to call MTN users, while MTN users would still have retained the ability to reach Glo users.
Glo, however, refuted any claims of owing MTN interconnect charges. An unnamed Glo official, as quoted by the Daily Trust, stated, “We do not owe MTN any interconnect charges.” The disagreement over interconnect fees has a lengthy history, spanning over 15 years, with recurrent threats from MTN to disconnect Glo. In 2019, MTN carried out a five-day disconnection of Globacom from its network, prompting Glo to settle around ₦2.6 billion in owed interconnect fees out of a total ₦4.4 billion. Airtel had also issued threats of disconnection to Glo during the same period.
The extension granted by the NCC provides an opportunity for both parties to reach an amicable resolution to their longstanding dispute within the stipulated timeframe.
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