TelOne says it lost US$1 million in 2023 as a result of vandalism and theft of cable and other network infrastructure.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday last week in Harare, TelOne CEO, Lawrence Nkala said there is an urgent need to replace the copper network as it is prone to vandalism. Nkala said (via Business Times):
TelOne is facing serious theft of copper cables and other network elements across the country.
The theft and vandalism have been so rife, that it has become one of the top threats to the sustainability of the TelOne business.
While Harare has been significantly affected by this vice, mining towns like Kadoma, Kwekwe and Gweru have also been hit hard, with some areas going without service for months.
In 2023, almost 50,000 TelOne customers were at some point affected by downtime due to network theft and vandalism.
During the year, Harare recorded 126 cases, followed by Midlands which recorded 75 during the period under review. Matabeleland North had the least number of attacks recording 4.
The number of arrests during the period amounted to 38 while only 4 convictions were recorded. The value of the vandalized network for the year 2023 stood at around US$1m.
The replacement of the copper network which is now outdated and continues to be subjected to widespread network vandalism has become urgent.
To combat the widespread vandalism of its network infrastructure, Nkala said TelOne has partnered with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), and other state security agencies to step up patrols at the country’s borders to control the smuggling of stolen copper.
