Globacom reacts to owing MTN interconnect charges
Khalid ABRAHAM
Globacom Ltd, a Nigerian Telecommunications Company, Tuesday denied reports making the rounds that it was owing MTN interconnect charges.
A reliable source in Globacom told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that the amount due for payment was N1.6 billion and it had been paid without controversy.
A public pre-disconnection notice signed by the Nigerian Communication Commission’s, NCC, Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, had been posted on the commission’s Twitter page on Monday, January 8.
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The notice stated that Glo failed to settle its outstanding debts despite repeated attempts at resolution.
It stated that after reviewing the application and the circumstances relating to the indebtedness, Globacom lacked the significance or justifiable reasons for failing to pay the interconnect charges.
Part of the public notice read: “All subscribers are requested to take notice that the commission has approved the partial disconnection of Globacom to MTN.
“This is in accordance with 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 Jan. 8, 2024, subscribers of Globacom will no longer be able to make calls to MTN but will be able to receive calls.
The Glo official said a proper cross checking of facts should have been done before concluding that the telco was owing MTN.
“We are not owing MTN any interconnect charges,” the Glo official said.
The official added that Glo was the first telecoms company that introduced the pay per second form of billing, thereby cutting the monopoly of the other foreign companies operating in Nigeria.
According to the Glo official, the report against Nigeria’s fully indigenous telecommunications company that has redefined access to communications at all levels is false.
