Cable theft still out of hand

ADSL South Africa (Broadband South Africa), 4 September 2009

Cable thieves are having a whale of a time if one considers that Telkom has lost an estimated R3bn due to cable theft in the past 3 years. This is without even trying to estimate the cost to the South African economy as a whole.

Growing cost to Telkom…

Cable theft presents a growing cost to Telkom even if one considers the estimated 21% drop in the cost of repairing/replacing the stolen copper.

The losses suffered by Telkom due to cable theft consist of:

• Value of the copper stolen – This includes the cost of repairing or replacing the stolen copper which has dropped with an estimated 21% to R141 million over the past 3 years.  

• Cost of security – In reference to the growing cost of protecting Telkom’s assets against cable thieves. The cost of security has increased with almost 82% over the last 3 years to R231 million.  

• Lost revenue due to the loss of phone lines  – Telkom has lost an estimated R907 million in revenue in areas where they are not able to provide services due to cable theft.  

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