Engineer Gbenga Adebayo, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said expressed worry over the ongoing interconnect (debt) feud between MTN Nigeria and Globacom.
Monday, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) officially granted partial disconnection of Globacom (Glo) from MTN network, citing a lack of cooperation in debt payment as the primary reason.
The debt, Techeconomy gathered that this may affect about 61 million Glo subscribers. As of August 2023, Glo controlled 27.8 per cent of the Nigerian telecommunication subscribers’ market.
Concurrently, the NCC informed Globacom of MTN’s application, allowing Globacom an opportunity to present its case and provide comments.
Following a thorough examination of the circumstances surrounding the non-payment of interconnect charges, the NCC concluded that Globacom failed to provide sufficient or justifiable reasons for its outstanding debts.
However, ALTON chairman said the issue was of serious concern to members.
Adebayo said interconnect debt can generate distrust among members and the industry.
According to him, it can destroy growth and slow interconnectivity, “we are concerned. But, again, it is an internal matter that we are trying to find the best way to resolve. It is a serious issue, we are praying it doesn’t escalate beyond reasonable measure.”
On his part, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, the president, the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMs), who welcomed the development, said the challenge around interconnect debt had been on for the past 10 years.
Ogunbanjo sees no reason why Globacom shouldn’t have paid the money as and when due, stressing that these are monies/revenues collected immediately when calls are made.
“This is a good development so that no one stifles the other from existence. I believe it will serve other operators a lesson too. The interconnect debt has been a debilitating disease in the sector. An operator collects money upfront and refuses to remit when it is supposed to. I think that is bad,” he stated.
While commending NCC for the move, the NATCOMs boss, who recalled that as far back as 2008, as a member of the Industry Working Body, Glo had always been prevailed upon to pay their interconnect debt, said the withdrawal of service should also be applied to banks for refusing to pay the N200 billion Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) owed the telecoms operators. He said the service should be withdrawn from the banks.
Ogunbanjo, who urged the management of Globacom to do the needful and pay up the debt, said: “This will tell subscribers that Glo is a debtor firm. It will also give room for mobile number portability (MNP) to thrive because, if the matter is not resolved within time and people are not able to call, there will be an exodus of subscribers from Glo to another network.” (Guardian)
