Nigerian telecommunications company, Globacom Ltd., contested allegations, dismissing claims that it owed MTN interconnect charges. Glo stated that the disputed N1.6 billion had been promptly settled without any complications.

This contradicts the public pre-disconnection notice shared on the Nigerian Communication Commission’s (NCC’s) Twitter page on Monday, January 8th. Issued by Director of Public Affairs Reuben Muoka, the notice pointed out Glo’s recurrent failure to clear outstanding debts despite efforts to resolve the matter.

The notice further stated that upon careful examination of the application and the circumstances surrounding the indebtedness, Globacom was found to lack substantial or justifiable reasons for non-payment of 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.”

An official from Glo emphasized that a thorough verification of facts should have been conducted before jumping to the conclusion that the telecom company owed MTN.

“We are not owing MTN any interconnect charges,” the Glo official said.

The official further stated that Glo pioneered the introduction of pay-per-second billing, breaking the monopoly held by other foreign telecom companies in Nigeria. According to the Glo official, the allegations against the entirely indigenous telecommunications company are unfounded.