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MORE than 400 homes and businesses were plunged into a
communications blackout early on Thursday, as criminals struck
again at the Telikom network.
A 300 pair cable running between two pillars at Hohola near the
TST supermarket in the National Capital, was cut with widespread
damage to the telephone lines but the copper cable was not taken
away.
No one in the densely populated urban area was able to offer any
report of criminal activity during the night.
Technicians, who are working to restore services to homes and
commercial customers are facing a guessing game as to who might
have inflicted so much criminal damage, without stealing and
selling the cable.
The technicians estimate that it would take as long as four
working days to even partially restore the services because the
damage was inflicted in a way as to cause maximum disruption.
At the Telikom 4-Mile depot, where linesmen exchanged thoughts
on the incidents of criminal damage they encounter day and
night, they said it looked like sabotage.
Another school of thought makes a connection between the rising
tide of criminal damage and the sale of mobile cards by
wandering street vendors.
“It could be the reasoning of some struggling sales people that
if the land lines are out, sales of top up cards might rise,”
one weary linesman suggested.
In the month of August alone, Telikom has been forced to expend
K350,000 on replacement copper cable in the NCD alone.
The huge cash losses and the tying up of manpower, adds to the
backlog of customers who are without services.
There are already several no-go areas in the national capital
where Telikom has reluctantly suspended restoration services,
following attacks on its staff and the futility of making
“copper donations” to the criminal elements in the scrap metal
industry, who knowingly buy stolen copper.
 
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