The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has granted Airtel approval to partially disconnect Globacom from its network for failing to settle interconnect debts running into billions of Naira.
The partial disconnection, will make it impossible for Glo subscribers to make calls to Airtel network; however, they can receive calls from Airtel network.
Earlier in June 2019, MTN had accused Globacom of refusing to pay up its interconnect indebtedness and threatened to disconnect Glo subscribers, before NCC intervened. Now, the Telecom giant has to face a particial disconnection with Airtel for Interconnect bills.
In telecommunication business, telecom operators settle interconnect bills amicably through clearing houses approved and licensed by the NCC. But over the years, the interconnect debts have piled up and some operators are unwilling to settle the backlogs.
Interconnect debts are bills that resulting from charges for calls terminated from network to network. This means that if a Globacom subscriber initiates a call to an Airtel subscriber, the call is terminated on the Airtel network and Globacom is expected to pay the approved fee for terminating calls on Airtel network and vice versa.
Read the full notice below
“The Nigerian Communications Commission hereby notifies the general public and subscribers of Glomobile Limited (Glomobile) that approval has been granted for the partial disconnection of Glomobile from Airtel Networks Limited (Airtel) as a result of non-settlement of interconnect charges.
Glomobile was notified of the application and was given opportunity to comment and state its case. The Commission having examined the application and circumstances surrounding the indebtedness determined that the affected operator does not have sufficient reason for non-payment of interconnect charges.
All subscribers are therefore requested to TAKE NOTICE that:
1. The Commission has approved the Partial Disconnection of Glomobile by Airtel in accordance with Section 100 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 and the Guidelines on Procedure for Granting Approval to Disconnect Telecommunications Operators.
2. At the expiration of 10 days from the date of this notice, subscribers on the network of Glomobile will no longer be able to make calls to Airtel, but will be able to RECEIVE CALLS.
3. The Partial Disconnection however, will allow in-bound calls to the Glomobile network.
Please note that this disconnection will subsist until otherwise determined by the Commission.”
What this means for Glo subscribers
Over the years, Globacom has had accumulated charges for calls generated from its network and terminate on the Airtel network. This is what prompted Airtel to ask for the approval of NCC to disconnect Globacom for failure to pay up its interconnect debts.
Business lines on the Glo network that need to place calls to customers and business partners on the Airtel network will be affected. The same impact will be felt for subscribers making personal calls.
Read also: BEST AFFORDABLE MTN DATA PLAN CODES FOR INTERNET USERS
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