MTN Uganda hereby notifies all its customers that effective Monday 14th March 2011, our interconnect with Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL) will be de-activated. (Now suspended - we'll update in due course!)
MTN customers will therefore be unable to place direct calls to UTL subscribers, and vice-versa.
This action has been necessitated by Uganda Telecom Limited continuously defaulting on the settlement of its interconnect payments, amounting to about UGX 20 billion accumulated over a period of three years. Interconnect fees are pre-paid by customers with the dominance of the pre-paid services and therefore, there exist no justification for the failure to pay interconnect fees. The continued operation of interconnect is now a business risk as the debt continues to grow unabated.
Notice was officially served to Uganda Telecom Limited on June 23rd 2010, as per Article 22.2 (a) of the Interconnection Agreement signed between ourselves on February 1st 2001.
We have on numerous occasions, formally and informally, raised the breach of contract terms with Uganda Telecom Limited officials, but no material progress or serious commitment has been forthcoming.
Uganda Telecom Limited has unjustifiably and persistently refused to honour their business obligation and attempt to resolve the matter of outstanding unpaid dues, thus forcing us to take this unavoidable step.
About the MTN GROUP
Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a multinational telecommunications group, operating in 21 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code: "MTN". As at 30 September 2009, MTN recorded 108,4 million subscribers across its operations in Afghanistan, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Iran, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia. Please visit www.mtn.com
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