MTN offering a reward for info on battery theft
MTN recorded a loss of 125 batteries last week which was up by 51 batteries from the previous week.
Cellphone tower battery theft has become prevalent in Soweto, amongst other areas which are also hotspots, and this is affecting the efficiency of mobile services.
MTN recorded a loss of 125 batteries last week which was up by 51 batteries from the previous week. The mobile network has noted these losses with great concern and has urged the community to get involved to ensure that mobile services remain efficient and that customers do not incur the costs of replacing the batteries.
“We must avoid the costs of these thefts impacting the consumer, so shutting down these criminals has to be a priority. If left unchecked, entire communities, individual customers and small businesses alike, in affected areas, will struggle to access their mobile services as the theft comes with extensive damage to the entire network infrastructure,” explained Ernest Paul MTN General Manager: Network Operations.
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MTN is offering monetary rewards for those who give information which leads to the arrests of those involved in the battery theft syndicate. It is also important for those who are buying batteries to be aware of where the batteries they are buying are coming from as they may be stolen goods. The market price of a new battery is around R28 000, anything that is way below that is most likely stolen.
The mobile network has beefed up security at their cellphone tower and while this has yielded some results, it is still not enough. “The best way to start fighting back is for anyone spotting something suspicious on a site to report it immediately. There are various tip-off lines to call. Alternatively report it to the police”, explained Paul.
There are multiple channels you can use to report cell phone tower battery theft. You can call the following two lines or email the information anonymously to the email address below.
Bidvest Protea Coin Hotline – Call 086 101 1721
@MTNza Fraud Line – Call 083 123 7867
Or email anonymous@tipoffs.com
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