Not being able to utilise a service you are paying a lot of money for can be extremely frustrating, and local businesses are losing money.
Cable theft has left residents and business owners in parts of Monument, Noordheuwel and Mindalore infuriated because they feel the parastatal, Telkom, is shrugging its shoulders about the matter.
Numerous calls, emails and Facebook queries to the News about Telkom’s lack of concern called for some follow-up. Almost all of the complaints say the same thing – Telkom is dragging its feet about the replacement of the stolen cables and has also told a few of its customers that the entity has decided not to replace stolen cables any longer.
The recent cable theft, according to Telkom’s media relations specialist, Leigh-Ann Francis, was the fifth incident of its sort in the area.
“We can confirm that cables have been stolen in the Monument and Noordheuwel areas. This is the fifth incident of cable theft in recent times that has resulted in interruptions to customer services and significant cost to replace these cables,” her statement to the News read.
“In order to reduce the interruption of our customer services, Telkom is ramping up efforts to migrate customers to wireless and fibre technologies to ensure uninterrupted connectivity.”
She states that Telkom has taken a decision to speed up the deployment of fibre in the Noordheuwel area with the project already under way.
“Fibre is the next evolution of fixed line broadband connectivity and we want our customers to enjoy the best technological experience we can offer. Not only does fibre offer faster speeds but it is less susceptible to theft, electronic interference, and lightning and water damage than the copper network. Customers are offered LTE and Fixed Line Look-A-Like technology platforms as alternatives.
“Telkom is taking every step to ensure that our customers receive a seamless network experience free of criminal interference.”
Are you satisfied with Telkom’s efforts? The News would really like to know what you think. Leave your comment on Facebook or send it to the editor at krugersdorpnews@caxton.co.za.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at krugersdorpnews@caxton.co.za or phone us on 011 955 1130.I
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