Glo faces disconnection over unpaid fees to MTN Nigeria

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has authorized MTN Nigeria to partially disconnect Globacom (Glo) from its telecom network for non-payment of interconnection fees.

The NCC notice said Glo failed to settle its outstanding debts despite repeated attempts at resolution.

"The Commission having reviewed the application and the circumstances relating to the indebtedness, Globacom lacked the significant or justifiable reasons for failing to pay the interconnect charges," the NCC said.

"All subscribers are requested to take notice that the commission has approved the partial disconnection of Globacom to MTN," the regulator explained.

"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)," it continued.

Interconnection is the linking of telecommunications networks so that customers of one network can communicate with customers of another network.

The NCC notice on January 8, 2024, gave Glo ten days to resolve the matter or otherwise Glo customers will not be able to make calls to the MTN network, although they will still be able to receive calls.

Calls between Glo subscribers will not be impacted.

However, Nigerian media is reporting that Glo has denied claims that it still owes MTN Nigeria interconnection charges despite the NCC suggesting otherwise.

According to Vanguard, a Glo source told journalists in Lagos that the amount owed – 1.6 billion Naira (US$1.8 million) – had been paid.

The 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 official reportedly told journalists.

Glo disconnection woes

This is not the first time that Glo has been partially disconnected. In July 2019, MTN partially disconnected Glo subscribers for non-payment of interconnection fees amounting to N4.4 billion ($5 million at the time).

Lasting for five days, that suspension ended when Glo made a partial payment of N2.6 billion and made commitments to settle the remaining debt.

The NCC gave Glo ten days from January 8, 2024, to resolve the matter – otherwise Glo customers will not be able to make calls to the MTN network. (Source: Image by DCStudio on Freepik)

Similarly, in October 2019, the NCC authorized Airtel Nigeria to disconnect Glo partially from its telecoms network.

Four years later, Glo is allegedly still defaulting on its payment obligations.

Nigeria mobile landscape

It will be interesting to see how the partial ban will impact Glo's subscribers.

Statistics from market research company Omdia, a sister company of Connecting Africa, show that MTN was the leading mobile operator in Nigeria at the end of the third quarter of 2023 with around 78 million subscribers.

Follow Connecting Africa on our new X account @connect__africa to get the latest telecoms and tech news across Africa.

Glo is the second-largest operator with almost 62 million users. Airtel Nigeria follows closely in third with 60 million, leaving 9Mobile with almost 14 million subscribers.

MTN Nigeria and Glo did not respond to questions from Connecting Africa about the partial disconnection matter.

*Top image source: Image by wirestock on Freepik.

— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa