Johannesburg – Copper line theft saw Openserve bleed millions of rand last year, said Telkom’s network division.
Openserve CEO Althon Beukes said cable theft causes many parts of the economy to come to a standstill, noting that it is expensive to replace such infrastructure.
“Copper line theft has a significant impact on connectivity and it costs the telecommunications sectors millions of rand every year,” said Beukes.
“Data gathered by Openserve shows that more than 800 areas across the country have been identified as hotspot areas for cable theft and vandalism, where thousands of copper DSL customers are heavily affected.
“Copper line theft and damage has cost Openserve more than R60-million over the past year.”
Looking at the national picture, the data becomes more grim.
The SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimates that cable theft costs the SA economy between R5-billion to R7-billion a year.
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