Whats Happening to Telkom's Fixed lines in Midrand???

[2old4this]

A quick inspection will reveal that all Telkom landlines have been stolen in President Park, Olifantsfontein, Glen Austin, & Kyalami in Midrand!!!
A friend revealed the same holds true for Bakerton, Springs!
I wonder how many other areas does this apply to?
Is this the begining of the end for fixed line services?

[MickeyD]

A quick inspection
Proof? Link?

[2old4this]

Proof? Link?
Visited a shop Allandale Trading & tried to pay via my debit card for goods.
After many tries payment was finally accepted - plently of transmission errors, owner said he was on some kind of sattelite system as his lines were stolen.
I visited a friend of mine in Glen Austin & he is a member of GARA, residents association & block watch.
He confirmed most cables have been stolen in area - it may be cited on GARA website or confirmation can be sought from webmaster!

[MickeyD]

All it proves is that the criminals have the upper hand and that scap copper exports to the Far East are booming.

[Jagtiger]

Does this means end of Telkom? :erm: Not so sure...

[grimd5]

no they are not monitoring the cable theft any more & that means that the shoppers have picked up on this ( open season for them from now on)

[Gargmel]

I ride bike a lot in the veld between Olifanstfontein and Midrand. And yes, the whole place is full off stripped cable. But on the plus side, I saw one of the new toll gantries wires have also been stolen....

[Jannie031]

I ride bike a lot in the veld between Olifanstfontein and Midrand. And yes, the whole place is full off stripped cable. But on the plus side, I saw one of the new toll gantries wires have also been stolen....

I couldn't help but to laugh. :D

[skusku]

Ya i work on the toll gantries and get to check everytime when they broke in and cleaned the place.

[RVQ]

Every 2-3 months lines in Kyalami area gets stolen, takes a few weeks to replace then rinse repeat.
Bakerton lines will no longer be replaced Telkom started switching to those wireless phones.

Copper lines is a waste in SA....

[MickeyD]

Hi folks, here's a very interesting read on copper theft in South Africa: http://www.the-african.org/blog/?p=367

extract:

A fourth group that is possibly also benefiting from copper cable theft is the private security industry. Private security firms have the potential to profit from copper cable theft, which should set alarm bells ringing for those analysing organized crime. Similar to the logic of racketeering, private security companies depend upon the problem continuing – not being resolved. Some have been awarded large contracts to combat copper theft and protect state assets; however, there is little evidence of their effectiveness. It is useful to compare loss statistics from Transnet and Telkom, which rely on outsourced private security companies, with Eskom, which has recently switched to in-house security mitigation.

Eskom has the smallest security budget overall (spending R18.2 million as compared to Transnet’s R116 million and Telkom’s R231 million), but has experienced the best results. Transnet’s losses have tripled over the last 5 years, and Telkom’s losses have also substantially increased. Eskom’s losses, however, have begun to level off in the last year, suggesting that in-house security is a cheaper and more effective option.

So, before proposing more security to stem the copper trade, the questions should be asked: who is making the most from copper cable theft and what sorts of interventions will restrain thieves, scrap dealers and security companies alike?

[SharkBait]

Does this means end of Telkom? :erm: Not so sure...

I would say yes, since they don't have any real alternative for us. Vsat is a joke and I think they can't decide weather they want to sell Wimax or not and if they are going the Wimax route again, then they need to increase the speed on it.