The Nigerian Communications Commission has approved the disconnection of SUNAB Telecoms Services Limited from Airtel Networks Limited over the operator’s failure to settle interconnect charges, giving a seven-day window before the switch is thrown.
In a public notice signed by the Director of its Public Affairs Department, Nnenna Ukoha, and dated August 10, 2026, the Commission said it granted the approval after examining the circumstances behind SUNAB’s indebtedness — including what it described as the company’s failure to comply with the terms of an agreed undertaking to repay.
According to the regulator, SUNAB was formally notified of the application and given the chance to comment and state its case before any decision was reached. After weighing the operator’s response, the Commission concluded that SUNAB had no sufficient reason for withholding payment of the interconnect charges.
The notice was issued under Section 100 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 and the Guidelines on Disconnection of Communications Operators 2025, the framework that governs how one operator may be cut off from another.
The Commission set a firm timeline. “At the expiration of 7 (Seven) days from the date of this notice, Airtel will discontinue passing voice and data traffic through SUNAB and will thereafter utilize alternative channels in interconnecting with other Network Service Providers,” the notice read.
The regulator added that the disconnection would remain in effect until it determined otherwise, leaving the door open for a reversal should the dispute be resolved.
The Commission directed the notice to the general public, a standard step in disconnection proceedings meant to alert affected subscribers and industry players before traffic between the two networks is severed.
For SUNAB, the ruling sets a countdown that can only be halted by settling with Airtel or persuading the Commission to think again — and with the clock already running, the operator has barely a week to act before the line goes dead.
