By Carolina Curiel (ScrapMonster Author)

June 01, 2016 10:41:14 AM

KAMPALA (Scrap Monster): Telkom- the wireline and wireless telecommunications provider in South Africa has stated that copper cable thefts continued to remain rampant during the past financial year. Apart from huge financial loss to Telkom, such acts have had significant impacts on thousands of customers.

According to figures released by the operator, almost 6,000 incidents of thefts were reported across its copper network during the financial year 2015. Copper cable theft incidents have led to a total loss in excess of R200 million during the year. Jacqui O'Sullivan, Group executive for communication, Telkom noted that R100 million was spent on repair costs on account of stolen cables. Additional R107 million was incurred towards security services.

Loss-financial and operational

The Telkom integrated report for the year 2015 states that the impact of copper theft has resulted in posting revenue losses for almost a decade now. The cost of repairing the damaged network is often many times higher than the actual value of the stolen cable. There are certain areas dominated by gangsters, where technicians fear to go. Even if the cables are replaced, they will be reported stolen after a few days of replacement.

The act of theft lead to breaks in connectivity. The disruption of service not only impacts individuals and households, but also emergency services such as hospitals and schools, government offices and industries.

As per rough estimates, stolen copper leads to revenue loss between R5 billion and R7 billion every year. Utility providers such as Eskom, Transnet and Telkom are often the largest victims of such thefts.

Sophisticated crime

O'Sullivan noted that theft has become more sophisticated in recent years. The thieves are now seen targeting manholes. They use customized vehicles for conducting the theft. These vehicles allow the criminals to hitch the cable on to them and drive out kilometers of cable, causing huge disruption in services.

Migration to new technology

In an attempt to prevent losses incurred by theft of cables, Telkom has decided to speed up the efforts to migrate customers to wireless and fibre technologies. The operator had recently migrated nearly 4,000 customers in badly affected areas to an alternative wireless product. Also, it had provided an opportunity for its DSL customers to upgrade free-of-cost their copper-based connection to the latest fibre technology. O'Sullivan promised that Telkom will take every step to ensure that its customers enjoy uninterrupted and high-quality service.

Criminal Matters Amendment Act

The Criminal Matters Amendment Act signed into law by president Jacob Zuma has come into effect today. The amendment is intended to change the legislation pertaining to infrastructure-related offences. As per the new law, those found guilty of such offences will face imprisonment of up to 30 years or fines up to R100 million. The law will make stricter the provisions for granting bail to offenders. Under the new law, police and prosecutors will not have powers to grant bail to suspects involved in serious crimes. The implementation of the new Act is expected to curb acts of vandalism and theft.

About Telkom

Telkom is a leading communications services provider in South Africa, operating in more than 38 countries across the African continent. Telkom is a semi-privatised, 39% state-owned company. It offer business, residential and payphone customers a wide range of services and products including fixed-line retail voice services, equipment rental and sales, interconnection services, fixed-line data services, Data Centre Operations, W-CDMA and mobile communication services.