By Ken Afor
Globacom (GLO), the Nigerian telecommunications company, has strongly refuted the allegations of unpaid interconnect charges to MTN, dismissing them as completely baseless and a consequence of erroneous fact verification.
TheNewDiplomat recalls that a public notice allegedly signed by Reuben Muoka, the Director of Public Affairs Department at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Monday stated that Globacom subscribers could potentially lose the ability to make calls to MTN lines.
According to the notice, Glo’s subscribers will be barred from calling MTN lines due to the network’s failure to clear a debt of N1.6 billion despite multiple attempts to resolve the issue.
The notice partly reads: “Globacom was notified of the application made by MTN and was given the opportunity to comment and state its case.
“The Commission, having examined the application and circumstances surrounding the indebtedness, determined that Globacom does not have sufficient or justifiable reason for non-payment of the interconnect charges.”
“Consequently, subscribers of Globacom will no longer be able to make calls to MTN but will be able to receive calls.
“The partial disconnection, however, will allow in-bound calls to the Globacom network.”
The statement further revealed that the barring will take effect 10 days from the date of notice on Monday, January 8, 2024.
However, an official of GLO in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos has refuted any claims of indebtedness to MTN.
“We are not owing MTN any interconnect charges,” the official stated.
The official, however, emphasized the importance of conducting thorough cross-checking before making any accusations.