Telkom pull-out leaves residents stranded

Leaving small business and residents stranded, Telkom will not be replacing stolen copper cables in eSikhaleni’s area H2. After months of repeated cable theft, Telkom has informed residents that ‘alternative access technology options will need to be investigated as it is no longer viable to replace cables’. Concerned entrepreneur and resident, DC Yeni, said that his business is under serious threat as a result. Running a home-based graphic design studio and copy shop is, according to Yeni, not possible without the use of a land line. ‘For example I need access to regular updated anti-virus software. The Internet is indispensable for that. ‘My copy shop business is partly dependent on the availability of a reliable fax line,’ he said. According to a Telkom spokesperson, the increase in copper cable theft is creating an environment of a rapidly deteriorating service quality and is severely affecting the delivery of sustainable ICT services to customers. ‘Telkom always endeavours to restore interrupted services as expeditiously as possible. ‘However, in cases where we have repeated cable theft, we have to look at alternatives. ‘Some cases allow for the replacement of the stolen copper cable, while others need alternative access technology.