By BIBIAN BARRENG
COPPER thieves are causing havoc to the country’s telecommunications system, striking at least twice a day.
Telikom PNG said the vandals were ripping off copper and fibre optic cables at will and described the vandalism as “well-coordinated and unprecedented”.
Yesterday, at about 1.30am, vandals struck near the University of PNG roundabout, about 350m from where some technicians were repairing another sabotage.
The new sabotage disrupted both domestic and international data, voice, email, facsimile, internet and mobile services.
Telikom said all sites served by the DomSat (Domestic Satellite) at the Gerehu Earth Station were disconnected, affecting services to Buka, Kiunga, Manus, Vanimo, Misima, Kainantu, Tabubil, Lihir, Kavieng, Daru and Mendi.
Other major centres affected include Madang, Rabual, Goroka, Lae, Wewak, Kimbe and Alotau.
Telikom technicians had been working round-the-clock to restore services but it was not known now long they would take.
Two weeks ago, another major cable cut occurred near the Sir John Guise Indoor complex.
A Telikom spokesperson told The National that the cable vandalised yesterday was the main distribution of telecommunication traffic for long distance.
The spokesman suggested that the attacks on the cables were not done at random.
“Never before have there been so many attacks on the cables and these people are attacking specific target sites that will result in maximum damage to the network,” the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Telikom chief executive officer Peter Loko has appealed to the public to take ownership of the telecommunication infrastructure.
“Telikom is a state-owned company and it belongs to the people of PNG,” he said and urged the public to help arrest the culprits.
He said the damage was causing inconvenience to innocent people and disrupting essential services.