Meanwhile, telecoms subscribers will not be affected, according to NCC.

Following the expression of fear by telcos that the development could potentially hurt their subscribers, the NCC has spoken out to allay the fears, stressing that its earlier directive to IHS and ATC had been misconstrued.

Speaking recently in Abuja, the NCC’s Executive Commissioner of Stakeholder Management, Mr Sunday Dare, said the disconnection will not affect any telecom subscribers. Instead, services would be restricted to some indebted telcos, he said.

“over the years, the industry has been plagued with the very serious problem of interconnect and facility indebtedness. Some operators have racked up huge debts to others and have simply refused to pay.

“Having done everything we could, including holding many meetings with the parties and brokering several payments plans to no avail, NCC has little choice in the matter but to grant the persistent requests of the creditor organisations to disconnect the chronic debtors in accordance with the Nigerian Communications Act and our Disconnection Regulations.” – Dare

He also stressed that it is the core objective of the NCC to protect the interests of telecom subscribers and will continue to do so.