Interconnect Debt Dispute Resolved Between MTN Nigeria and Glo

In a recent announcement by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the interconnect debt dispute between MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Globacom Limited has been successfully resolved.  The resolution comes within the 21-day grace period provided by the NCC, as highlighted in a statement by the Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka. Previously, the NCC had issued a warning in January, stating that Glo subscribers might face restrictions on making calls to MTN lines due to unresolved interconnect charges.  The potential disconnection could have affected 61.54 million mobile subscriptions on Glo’s network. The NCC extended its notice period to allow both companies to reach an agreement, taking into consideration the impact on subscribers.  In the recent statement, the NCC confirmed the amicable resolution of the dispute and withdrew the disconnection approval granted to MTN. The statement emphasized the NCC’s commitment to strict adherence to the terms and conditions of licenses, especially those outlined in interconnection agreements. Additionally, the commission expressed its proactive approach to preventing future instances of interconnect indebtedness within the industry.  This includes requesting relevant records and regular updates from Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and adopting a transparent approach to industry indebtedness.

Despite Challenges Telcos Meeting KPIs—NCC

The latest data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shows that the four mobile network operators, MTN, Globacom, Airtel, and 9mobile, are meeting their Quality of Service (QoS) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). According to the Nationwide QoS data released by the Commission, the telcos met their KPIs between July 2022 and June 2023. The operators’ performances are measured by the regulator based on parameters such as Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), Drop Call Rate (DCR), and Traffic Channel Congestion (TCH CONG). According to NCC, these QoS standards ensure that consumers continue to have access to high-quality telecommunications services by setting basic minimum quality levels for all operators. Based on the latest report, all the mobile operators crossed the threshold of 98 per cent call setup success rate in the 12-month review period. The Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR) is calculated by taking the number of unblocked call attempts divided by the total number of call attempts. In terms of drop call rate (DCR), which is fixed at 1 per cent or less, all the operators performed well as they recorded less than 1 per cent drop calls in the period, according to NCC’s record. A dropped call is a call that is prematurely terminated before being released normally by either the caller or the called party. In terms of Traffic Channel Congestion, (Standalone Dedicated Control Channel Congestion SDCCH), all the operators also met the KPI as they all recorded less than 2 per cent congestion within the period. The regulator’s parameter in this regard is that the congestion rate for the networks should be equal to or less than 2 per cent. The Traffic Control Channel Congestion Rate is the probability of failure to access a traffic channel during call setup. The technical result of operators’ quality of service may, however, be different from the reality based on subscribers’ experience in the period covered by the report and even now. The President of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), Mr. Deolu Ogunbajo disagreed with the regulator. According to him, NCC is looking at the quality of service from the technical aspect and not from the subscribers’ angle. “The KPIs are measured technically and are far from the reality of what the subscribers are experiencing. We disagree with NCC on this. There are lots of complaints on Dropped calls, and even the call setup success rate is nothing to write home about. “There are times you want to call and the call is not just connecting, the call setup rate is poor, all is not well in terms of quality of service as the report suggests” he said. Based on the huge number of mobile subscriptions in the country, the minute percentage of errors allowed the operators to cover a large number of subscribers facing the quality of service challenge.