No phone calls between Airtel and UTL

Jan 30, 2017

"This is because the interconnection agreement and interconnection services between Airtel Uganda and UTL were cancelled".

There will be no phone calls between customers of Airtel Uganda and Uganda Telecom (Mango) next week after the two companies cancelled their interconnection agreement over debts.

This is not the first time callers between the two companies are blocked from exchanging calls.

"Airtel Uganda regrets to inform its subscribers that effective Friday 3rd February our subscribers will not be able to make calls or to receive calls from Uganda Telecom Ltd (UTL)," said a statement from Airtel Uganda.

The statement added: "This is because the interconnection agreement and interconnection services between Airtel Uganda and UTL were cancelled."

An interconnect agreement is a business contract between telecommunications organizations for the purpose of interconnecting their networks and exchanging telecommunications traffic.

The telecom companies agree on a fee to charge per call and they remit to each other amounts based on the calls made or the agreement.

UTL has been in trouble over poor management over the years. Airtel has accused them of not remitting money. 

In 2011, UTL owed Airtel sh10b which they struggled to pay but UTL continued to accumulate debt.

UTL managers are currently being investigated by Parliament for mismanagement and misappropriation of funds.

Last year Airtel sued UTL in the commercial court to demand payment of its debt.

The Libyan Government is the majority shareholder in UTL (69%) with the Uganda government holding 31%.

Many private investors in UTL withdrew a few years ago accusing government of not injecting their share of capital.

 

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