Johannesburg, 08 Jun 2012
Over 4 500 businesses and residences in Johannesburg alone have been affected by the scourge of cable theft, in a period of less than two months.
In the most recent incident, Telkom says its services in Springs, east of Johannesburg, have been disrupted following an incident of “multiple cable theft” on Wednesday. The suburbs of Casseldale and Strubenvale, with telephone codes 815, 812 and 362, were affected.
In addition to the more than 1 000 Telkom customers - corporate and residential - affected by the latest episode, over 1 600 customers in Johannesburg's northern suburb of Bromhof were affected last week, and another 2 000-plus were left without their fixed-line services in the same area, after an incident of cable theft in May.
According to the company, on each occasion thieves broke into Telkom's underground infrastructure access to cut and remove cables feeding street distribution cabinets in the respective areas. Telkom says police investigations are under way.
The severity of the crime, says Telkom, lies in the fact that ICT services are so fundamental to businesses and residents on a day-to-day basis. Theo Hess, Telkom's managing executive for network field services, says the services that cable theft disrupts are a “vital component to the running of businesses and an integral part of everyday living”.
Regarding the latest incident, Hess says technicians have begun restoring services in the area and all services in Springs will be restored, gradually, by Monday. “Telkom has also increased security measures in the area.”
Telkom says 295 arrests have been made over the past six months, through close collaboration with the Non-Ferrous Theft Combating Committee, Business Against Crime and the South African Police Services.
Hess says Telkom's efforts to counter the bane of cable theft are ongoing. He says Telkom has adopted various interventions, including alarming cable routes, employing the services of armed security firms, and deploying wireless technologies that are alternatives to copper.
Telkom says affected customers qualify for pro-rata rebates on their line rentals. “Customers are advised to call our Billing Enquiries Service on 10210 to enquire about such rebates for the period during which their lines were non-functional.”
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