Strange things that destroy fibre connections in South Africa

Aside from criminals, South Africa’s fibre network operators (FNOs) have seen many different types of animals and natural elements damage customers’ fibre connections.

A MyBroadband reader in Durban recently related an odd story about the cause of a break in his Vumatel fibre connection.

In late September 2024, his connection was cut off. After realising no one else in his neighbourhood was having any issues, he contacted his Internet service provider to help resolve the problem.

A Vumatel technician came to his home a few days later and quickly discovered the culprits — ants had built a nest in a fibre box near the street outside his house and damaged the cabling inside.

The technician repaired the break by splicing the cable, and the customer was back online within a few minutes.

They explained the ants had likely moved into the box due to the unusually cold weather that hit KwaZulu-Natal.

While the technician initially warned the customer they might have to pay for the fix, Vumatel covered the repair cost as the break had not occurred on their property.

The incident left MyBroadband curious to know what other animals or elements had damaged fibre cables laid by South Africa’s major FNOs and who had to pay to fix them.

Vumatel said although rare, it has also seen cases where rodents, including rats, chewed through its cables.

“To mitigate this, newer manholes are now fitted with air seals, preventing animals from entering,” the FNO stated.

“We’ve also seen instances where bees nest inside manholes. While this doesn’t usually harm the infrastructure, it can pose a safety risk to both the community and technicians.”

It added that construction or civil works, vandalism, and environmental hazards were more commonly to blame for infrastructure damage.

Vumatel said when the damage occurs on public property or due to unforeseen circumstances out of the customer’s control, it will cover the cost of repairs.

“We recognise and understand that life happens, so it would be unreasonable to charge customers in most circumstances,” the company said.

” However, in certain instances where an entirely new route must be constructed, or if the damage is due to intentional actions or negligence, Vuma reserves the right to recover costs from the responsible party, which may include the end customer.”

The country’s third-largest open access FNO, MetroFibre, told MyBroadband that ants, bees, bats, and animals or pets that dig, bite, and chew cables are some of the peculiar culprits who have broken its fibre cables.

“We recently had a bat that damaged the fibre and we managed to remove it from inside our equipment unharmed,” MetroFibre said.

“If a beehive is found, we call in specialists to remove them and transport them to safety. This can only be achieved at night.”

Other cable-damaging elements include veld fires, water damage, accidental pulling or bending by humans, gardening, and vigorous cleaning.

One bizarre issue MetroFibre had experienced was thieves stealing the strength member of the fibre for its glass, which they crush and smoke.

MetroFibre said if the break occurred “street side”, it would carry the cost of repairs.

However, if a customer or their pet has broken the cable inside their property, they would be liable to pay for repairs.

Damage caused inside the house and garden within the boundary wall is the customer’s responsibility.

Frogfoot’s head of department for facilitates and maintenance, Manie Havenga, said the three biggest reasons for fibre breaks at people’s homes were renovations, gardening services, and pet damage.

Havenga said two incidents that stood out for Frogfoot were monkeys damaging a home drop cable in KwaZulu-Natal and a soccer ball hitting an aerial fibre cable.

However, Havenga said the primary animal culprits that caused problems were dogs and cats, as well as rats and moles.

Similar to MetroFibre, Frogfoot customers are liable for the repairs of cable damage caused by their own pets.

Havenga added that rodent damage would be assessed before Frofgfoot could establish if the client was accountable.

Herotel’s strangest fibre breakers include an airgun pellet and a goat that chewed on a cable.

“We’ve also had scenarios where soil acidity in non-sealed or non-water-tight enclosures has made fibres brittle, leading to breakages,” Herotel said.

Like the other FNOs, other animals that have damaged its lines include dogs digging holes in a customer’s garden and bees, ants, and termites nesting inside enclosures and manholes.

Herotel typically assumes responsibility for these breaks.

However, if the break occurred inside the customer’s home or roof, they will be charged for the technical callout and repairs.