1800 TelOne Users Facing Service Disruption Following Theft Of Copper Cables

Almost 2000 TelOne subscribers should brace themselves for some service disruption. Last night $10 000 worth of copper cables were stolen and this will affect subscribers in the CBD.

They sent out a press statement informing users of the incident and you can read it below:

Harare- 15 May 2018

Last night (14 May 2018) TelOne fell victim to massive theft of copper cables (1200pair) feeding a major section in the Harare Central Business District with at least 1800 clients being affected.

This follows a week of such similar incidences in Graniteside, Workington, Southerton, Milton Park, Monavale, Eastlea, Belvedere and part of Bulawayo Central Business District.

The copper cables stolen are worth about $10,000. However, the major loss from the vandalism is on the TelOne business as well as our clients’ businesses which is worth thousands of dollars as the stolen cables affect both voice and broadband.

Vandalism is an issue that the company has been grappling with over the years but has witnessed a surge in recent months that has continued to affect service delivery to our clients. The service disruption is worsened by the shortage in foreign currency which delays the importation of the much-needed equipment and network elements.

Through the on-going anti-vandalism campaign and the collaboration of various stakeholders including the police, more than 39 arrests have been made since January with 16 convictions with a collective sentencing of 160 years having been processed.

This is big news and hopefully, they will be able to get their service up and running soon. Both voice subscribers and those accessing the internet through TelOne will be affected by this. It is not yet clear if this incident affects users who are accessing TelOnes’s WiFi fibre services but judging from the press release it seems that’s not the case.

TelOne is yet to give a timeline when the service will be back but hopefully, this will be resolved soon.