Battery theft warning for South Africa

Vodacom has appealed to law enforcement and communities living near its towers to help it crack down on battery theft and vandalism at its base stations amid a recent increase in these crimes.

South Africa’s biggest mobile network said the crimes are largely driven by an increased copper price, which has resulted in a wave of copper theft across the country.

“Battery theft and vandalism at our base stations continue to be a huge challenge for the telco sector,” says Vodacom Group chief risk officer Johan van Graan.

“The consequences go beyond the costs of repairing and restoring infrastructure. They have a significant impact on communities that depend on connectivity as a vital lifeline.”

The operator said that KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, and Northern Gauteng, accounted for 40% of all battery thefts.

According to Vodacom, base station vandalism and battery theft can result in hundreds of thousands of people being left without a means to communicate, as many rely on cellphone networks for this.

However, it can also affect businesses and emergencies where communication can be a matter of life or death.

The network operator said combatting theft and vandalism can cost around R100 million per year, with repairs to a single site’s infrastructure costing up to R100,000.

Van Graan said the rate of these crimes had been stable throughout the year, which he primarily attributed to security measures such as site hardening, where vaults are built around critical infrastructure at the sites.

Vodacom has also deployed hi-tech security technologies to detect and deter criminals.

In addition, the mobile network has turned to communities for assistance.

“Our community engagement initiative, where we have partnered local communities and work with police to serve as monitoring personnel to help safeguard our sites, has yielded positive results,” Van Graan says.

“Critically, our partnership with private security companies and law enforcement agencies has been a major contributor to preventing break-ins and has led to successful arrests of criminals and prosecution.”

While Vodacom has increased security measures on all sites, including adopting artificial intelligence to support the security layers for early detection, it still points to local communities as the number one line of defence.

Vodacom has encouraged anyone who becomes aware of suspicious behaviour around its base stations to contact the operator via its dedicated toll-free line at 082 241 9952 or to call the police on 10111.