Telco warns of damage from cell tower battery theft and vandalism
Telecommunications giant MTN has raised the alarm concerning the increase in battery theft and vandalism at cellphone towers across the country, which are impacting on all mobile networks.
The group recently experienced a week-on-week surge in battery theft incidents from 74 to 125, sparking a call for a “greater fight-back” to avoid the costs of replacing batteries and fixing damaged infrastructure, which are passed on to consumers.
“Battery theft and related vandalism are costing MTN hundreds of millions of rands and the impact on the entire industry is exorbitant. Recent data shows MTN had 733 batteries stolen from its sites across the country in April,” says MTN network operations GM Ernest Paul, highlighting the need for a stronger and more concerted drive to clamp down on syndicates and opportunistic criminals.
Worst Hit AreasCurrently, the worst hit areas are Soweto, Tembisa, Vereeniging and Parktown.
There is a high cost to customers and network providers each time a battery is stolen, keeping in mind that as many as 4 to 16 batteries need to be replaced at each site.
Replacing the batteries at, for example, 100 sites, would cost well over R10-million, with several more millions of rands required to cover the costs of fixing the damage done to the cellphone towers.
“If left unchecked, entire communities, individual customers and small businesses alike in the affected areas will struggle to access their mobile services, as the theft comes with extensive damage to the entire network infrastructure,” Paul explains.
While MTN has beefed up security significantly and adopted a 360º action plan, which has achieved major successes, increasingly, incidents are becoming more violent, with some guards even being abducted, assaulted and shot at, he adds.
However, everyone has a role to play in the eradication of battery theft – and MTN plans to implement a monetary reward mechanism for information that leads to the arrest of criminals.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
M and J Mining are leading suppliers of physical support systems as used by the underground mining industry. Our selection of products are not...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
