LOUIS TRICHARDT - Telkom has established a confidential whistle-blowing service for the public to anonymously expose perpetrators of cable theft and other Telkom-related crime.

The Manager, Media Relations of Telkom Corporate Communications, Mr Ed Tillett, urged the public to report activities which arouse their suspicions to the toll-free Telkom number 0800 124 124. As an incentive Telkom pays up to R100 000 for information that leads to a successful conviction and/or the recovery of stolen Telkom assets.

Mr Tillet gave particulars about elaborate and drastic steps taken by Telkom to secure its network against massive organised cable and solar panel theft by syndicates.

He was approached after a recent complaint by telephone users in the Waterpoort area who had to go without service for months on end after repeated theft of copper wire on that particular telephone network.

He said this type of theft is an unfortunate fact of life in South Africa today. During the 2000/2001 financial year cable and solar panel theft cost Telkom more than R36 million countrywide (of which R28 million was from cable theft alone) arising from 13 205 incidents of theft. Of these incidents 353 suspects were prosecuted, of whom 335 were convicted.

He said these figures represent the replacement value of cable and solar panels only and excludes “hidden costs” such as loss of income, labour costs incurred through overtime, transport costs, security costs and other equipment costs, which are difficult to quantify.

Not only does this result in a huge capital loss for the company, but the disabling of telecommunication services also hampers Telkom’s ability to deliver a world class service to its customers and results in suffering, frustration and often loss of income to customers whose service is interrupted

It also leads to life-threatening situations, when emergency services cannot be reached during a crisis because of missing cables or non-functioning payphones. A working payphone is a lifeline that can always be used to make an emergency call free of charge.

The resources and manpower used to replace stolen or damaged cables could have been more productively used to install new services.

“While the cost of the theft is not passed on to the consumer, since these are covered by insurance, insurance premiums rise. To deter cable thefts Telkom is taking various proactive steps.”

Mr Tillet said the ongoing copper cable theft has underlined the vulnerability of traditional wire-bound telephone systems as a transmission medium. Telkom is making increasing use of new technologies to combat cable theft. This include increasing the optic fibre content of its network as well as installing microwave and wireless local loop systems, especially in areas that are vulnerable to cable theft.

Fibre optic cables are expensive, but they have no resale value on the scrap market and are therefore less vulnerable to theft.

These measures have all contributed to a steady decline in cable theft since the high point in 1996, with the money value of cable stolen having dropped from R43.3 million in the 1996/97 financial year to R36.6 million in the 2000/2001 financial year.

These measures put a temporary brake on cable theft, but cannot eliminate the problem altogether.

Therefore, in addition, Telkom has joined forces with Eskom, Spoornet and the Chamber of Commerce to find a more lasting solution in a lobby for tighter control of the scrap copper market. Scrap metal merchants contribute to the theft by buying stolen cables, melting them down and re-selling them as “recycled metal”.

More effective legislation will help curb the activities of scrap dealers by making it more difficult to sell stolen cable.