JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Mobile network operator MTN announced it will not disconnect the national operator Nitel due to the huge debt outstanding to the network in the form of interconnection payments.
Adrian Wood, chief executive officer of MTN Nigeria, said his company has offered support to Nitel to assist it in solving the technical problems that have been militating against seamless interconnect with GSM operators.
Wood said that Nitel owes MTN Nigeria roughly 1 billion naira (US$7.7 million) and included the 20 percent carried over from 2002.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had brokered a settlement meeting between the GSM network operators and Nitel on the issue of interconnect debt, with specific directives to Nitel on how to settle the debt.
Adrian Wood added that MTN had been working with senior management staff of Nitel and the regulator to ensure payment of the debt.
In addition Wood said that in terms of the GSM license award to the operators the networks must remain interconnected at all times.
