Interconnect debt: MTN Nigeria will get NCC’s nod to disconnect Alternate Telecoms  

The Nigerian Communications Fee (NCC) has granted approval to MTN Nigeria to disconnect Alternate Telecommunications Restricted from its community.

In line with a public discover issued by the telecom regulator on Friday, the disconnection discover adopted Alternate Telecoms’ failure to settle its interconnect expenses.

Alternate Telecoms facilitates interconnection of calls and information visitors domestically and internationally and it’s at the moment linked to all of the Cell Community Operators (MNOs) to do this.

This disconnection signifies that the Alternate firm would not be capable to cross MTN calls and information visitors to different networks, however the NCC mentioned MTN would swap to different channels after the disconnection.

No justification for indebtedness 

Whereas noting that Alternate was notified of the applying for disconnection by MTN and given the chance to remark and state its case, NCC mentioned the corporate had no motive to not pay.

“The Fee, having examined the applying and circumstances surrounding the indebtedness, decided that Alternate doesn’t have adequate motive for non-payment of the interconnect expenses.  

“The general public is, subsequently, requested to take discover that: The Fee has permitted the Disconnection of Alternate to MTN in accordance with Part 100 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 and the Tips on Process for Granting Approval to Disconnect Telecommunications Operators, 2012.  

On the expiration of 5 (5) days from the date of this discover, MTN will discontinue passing voice and information visitors by way of Alternate and can, thereafter, utilise different channels in interconnecting with different Community Service Suppliers. Please word that this disconnection will subsist till in any other case decided by the Fee,” NCC said within the discover signed by its Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Reuben Muoka.

What it’s best to know 

Earlier this yr, the NCC issued the same discover of disconnection relating to MTN and Globacom. In that case, MTN was granted approval to implement a partial disconnection of Globacom over its refusal to pay interconnect debt.

Globacom was given a 10-day pre-disconnection discover. Nevertheless, on the expiration of the ten days, the Fee introduced that the 2 MNOs had reached an settlement and there was not any want for disconnection.

• Interconnect fee is the value that telecommunications operators pay one another for calls terminating on their networks.
• Alternate Telecoms, on its half, acts as an middleman between the telecom operators to attach their calls and information visitors and gather expenses, a part of which is to be paid to the networks on which the visitors is terminating.
• Alternate Telecoms on its web site claims it’s the solely provider at the moment transiting worldwide calls originating from all of the MNO networks in Nigeria to A-Z locations overseas.
• The corporate mentioned it terminates over 100 million worldwide minutes into Nigeria month-to-month and transits outbound calls from Nigeria to all places worldwide.