Midrand firms fuming at Telkom

Midrand businesses are fuming at Telkom after cable theft caused service cuts in mid-December.

Charlene Carroll, a director at Cameo Corporate Communications, says she last had a working Telkom line on 13 December. Sean Nauschutz, of Midway Homes, has also been unable to make a call since then.

Both businesses are located in Glen Austin, but lines in Randjesfontein, President Park and Blue Hills are also affected. "The interruptions are quite dispersed and on both sides of the N1 highway," says Carroll.

The cables were replaced before Christmas, but were stolen again before they could be connected.

"There are apparently temporary cables in the area, but after two weeks we have not seen hide nor hair of a Telkom technician, although we have been promised one everyday for no less than two weeks," seethed Carroll.

"Being the biggest growing business district in Johannesburg, I cannot believe the service we have or rather have not received in this regard. The Midrand licensing department's cables were stolen on 7 December, and we aren't even on the same box as them. The Midrand SPCA - also on another exchange - has been without cables since 22 December."

Nauschutz says the interruption has "restricted my business by 90%".

A Telkom spokesman could not immediately comment on Midrand's travails, but says cable theft is a national problem affecting Telkom and other service providers that use copper cable.

"Telkom spends approximately R100 million on security per annum. Although various successes have been achieved in this regard, the problem is still prevalent," he says. "The company endeavours to resolve all interrupted services as expeditiously as possible."

Carroll is not placated. "While Telkom recently took great steps to downsize its technical team, the reality of this move is now being evidenced in the lack of support we are getting in our area," she says.

"Management takes no responsibility, technical takes no responsibility, and as a result Midrand is sitting with no lines. While cabling theft is indeed an issue all over Africa, it is no excuse. We cannot run our business and each day we lose money, while Telkom still has the audacity to bill us for 'service' it fails to provide. IT companies have to agree to an SLA [service level agreement] with their clients; where is this SLA from Telkom?"