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By ALISON ANIS
TELIKOM PNG has reported a ‘sudden surge’ in cable vandalism in main
centres in PNG in recent weeks and believes that a criminal play could
be at work to sabotage national telecommunications network in the
country.
Telikom acting chief executive officer Peter Loko, when briefing
reporters on the incident yesterday, said the recent attacks took place
in areas where they least expected it to happen and involved the cutting
off of network cables which were then left on the ground by vandals.
“Apparently, this has nothing to do with theft of copper because nothing
was taken out of the cable as we have discovered,” Mr Loko said, adding
that previously vandals cut cables to get copper and sell them for K7 a
kilogram.
Mr Loko said Mt Hagen, Lae and Madang became the recent targets for such
activity and up until now Telikom facilities in Gerehu, Tokara and
Morata were hard hit.
The recent attacks has prompted Mr Loko to call on the public and city
residents to report any suspected move by criminal elements, “who
intentionally try to cause disruption to the flow of telecommunication
services by cutting off of cables”.
Mr Loko said often they get hammered by the public because of the
services, which could be the fault of criminal elements trying to
sabotage Government or State-owned property.
The rise in cable vandalism has forced Telikom to spend K350,000 last
month alone to replace copper cables in NCD.
Mr Loko said Telikom was now looking at the next step, which is to
introduce fixed wireless services to its customers as part of solving
the problem.
He said the wireless was on trial now with customers at Gerehu and the
University of PNG, who had been hit all the time because of the
continual vandalism in Gerehu.
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