The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta has revealed that interconnect indebtedness in the country’s telecom industry is valued at over N70 billion.
This, according to him is worrisome, calling on the operators to settle the huge debt being owened by the various operators for the overall interest of the telecom industry, which is contributing over 14 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as in the second quarter of 2020 and valued at N2.3 trillion.
“Telecom operators in the country should as a matter of urgency find a way to settle the huge interconnect debts valued at over N70 billion being owed by various industry operators,” he urged at a National Dialogue on Telecoms and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Sectors, organized by the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) in Abuja yesterday.
He added that the debt is a big challenge to infrastructure expansion and inimical to healthy competition, which are needed for facilitating digital economy in Nigeria.
An interconnect debt is the one incurred by an operator for terminating calls on another network. It is reoccurring challenge in the industry, which has lingered for over 15 years.
Even though the telecom regulator has always given assurance to resolve the interconnect quagmire so that consumers can continue to enjoy uninterrupted service, the issue remained unresolved.
This may not be unconnected with the fact that the issue of interconnection is a matter that the Commission should be handled delicately within the purview of the regulatory provisions to protect consumers by ensuring that their quality of experience (QoE) is not acutely affected.