Telkom Cable theft - Haha

[jetpacman]

I saw a lot of posters about Telkom cable theft being evil on the light poles over the last few days. Now I was wondering how can it be bad when surely it creates work for people to put in new cables
Also it means that Telkom now have an opportunity to put fiber in place of the ageing networks which will ultimately prevent copper theft in the future. Another thing is how can anyone believe those stupid ads about " I lost my job because of cable theft"

The bottom line is that Telkom don't want to employ people. The other day while attempting to get ADSL installed I was told by the consultant at the 10219 call centre that " The self install means that Telkom doesnt need have staff to come to your house". I heard this again at two of the Telkom Direct shops. So I think the ads are like a form of sarcasm.

 

[Paul_S]

Now that's funny - I haven't seen those ads but nearly the entire neighbourhood I live in is without telephone connections due to theft. They won't replace them because they keep getting stolen and the fibre optic equipment is too expensive.

What blows my mind is that they even bother putting up those signs - I mean what thief is going to bother reading and heeding the signs?
Do they think that thieves have compassion for other people?
What a joke.

 

[Alan]

Do they think that thieves have compassion for other people?

A lot of people think that

 

[jetpacman]

Fiber is not expensive if you think of the profits Telkom is making. I think the problem with Telkom is not one person but the whole organisation, there a appears to be a lot of fragmentation within the organisation and ironically not very clear communication channels. This together with the fact that it used to be a state enterprise before means that there might be some of that "lets go have coffee, the government is paying us" attitute amongst those who weren't retrenched and are still there from the old days. Then I suspect there is the lack of education and passion for technology and a greedy profiteering mindset amongst management.

As for the cable theft ads, Eskom also tried the making people bad approach. There approach was actually a racial one. They appealed to the superstition in black people with the guy on the ads with his name and the snake like eyes. They made the assumption that black people are stealing the cables and that black people are superstitious and will perceive the "izinyoka" in their midst to be evil and will report these "snakes".
Maybe it worked maybe it didn't but clearly they are thinking that people are stupid and are clutching at straws trying to solve the problem.

Maybe they could combat cable theft by

a. Laying fiber ( it will have to be done anyway)
b. Hiring staff and creating employment for security teams ( unemployed people are stealing the stuff)
c. Pay big fat rewards out of their fat coffers to people reporting, and advertise the rewards instead of the guilt trip
d. Hire more people and create prosperity and livelihood
e. Hire more people and create prosperity and livelihood
f. And did I mention, they should hire more people and create prosperity and livelihood

I think that if the cable is out in your area you must not blame cable theft but rather the incompetence of Telkom because any proper company is suppose to serve their clients regardless of what happens to their infrastructure. Telkom has the money to do so but maybe not the manpower. They clearly don't want to hire more staff. The state of the nation address highlighted the need to improve employment levels and fight poverty which causes crime. I now challenge the President to take on Telkom for this.

 

[ldmelsa]

which will ultimately prevent copper theft in the future

It will prevent copper theft but not cable theft. They steel the fiber cables as well. The fiber cables are covered with Kevlar.
This is what a cable guy from Telkom told me.

 

[firefly550]

I saw a lot of posters about Telkom cable theft being evil on the light poles over the last few days. Now I was wondering how can it be bad when surely it creates work for people to put in new cables
Also it means that Telkom now have an opportunity to put fiber in place of the ageing networks which will ultimately prevent copper theft in the future. Another thing is how can anyone believe those stupid ads about " I lost my job because of cable theft"

The bottom line is that Telkom don't want to employ people. The other day while attempting to get ADSL installed I was told by the consultant at the 10219 call centre that " The self install means that Telkom doesnt need have staff to come to your house". I heard this again at two of the Telkom Direct shops. So I think the ads are like a form of sarcasm.

ADSL installation is now the responsibilty of the local ISP's they will now sell you a complete package, still don't know if they install the lines too?

 

[onlyme]

..... Another thing is how can anyone believe those stupid ads about " I lost my job because of cable theft" ....

My business relies heavily on the availability of my ADSL and Telephone lines, take those away for 2 weeks and I'll have to let go at least on employee.

 

[Jonny Two Shoes]

It will prevent copper theft but not cable theft. They steel the fiber cables as well. The fiber cables are covered with Kevlar.
This is what a cable guy from Telkom told me.

And what exactly are they going to do with the Kevlar?? I highly doubt they can sow it all together

Once again Goedkoop is Duurkoop.

Telkom opt to continue installing Copper lines and lose out due to theft, rather than installing fibre hence upgrading their infrastructure and saving on theft all in one go. They will learn, oh no wait...they can't learn --- they are a bunch of Monkeys!.

I see ol' Steve Hayward is at it again too, the JSE is supposed to be investigating that blighter for me lol. Wonder what they are doing as well, picking their noses?!

Last I got was a fax saying I will expect a formal response from Telkom soon! that was a while back well I guess they can't be blamed, it is impossible to get anything out of Telskelm

I wonder if our complaints to the JSE put any pressure on Telkom CEO and managers to "resign" maybe we were the cause of that.............. naaaah can't be

 

[onlyme]

And what exactly are they going to do with the Kevlar?? I highly doubt they can sow it all together

Once again Goedkoop is Duurkoop.

Telkom opt to continue installing Copper lines and lose out due to theft, rather than installing fibre hence upgrading their infrastructure and saving on theft all in one go. They will learn, oh no wait...they can't learn --- they are a bunch of Monkeys!......

The problem is cable thiefs don't exactly inspect the cable before taking to it with a saw or axe, the result is when the cable is fiber they destroy it anyway even if they leave it where it is, and fiber can not simply be spliced together again.

As a result simply replacing cable with copper doesn't make the problem go away, and sometimes turns out to be a lot more expensive.

 

[Jonny Two Shoes]

Nah I think if it were fibre the thieves would have got the hint by now, granted maybe they would have lost a cable or two

Its probably some kind of syndicate so the minute they are informed of fibre then business will die. Im just assuming though, and we all know what assuming did so don't stand by it