How to Stay Connected with The Pandemic of Copper Theft

When your lights go off without warning, or your phone and internet simply stop working, it’s very likely to be due to copper cable theft.

The blight of cable theft in South Africa seems to be an impossible problem to solve. Criminals and desperate people simply pull down, pull up or pull apart power and communication systems to get to the copper within. They then haul their ill-gotten gains off to unscrupulous scrapyard dealers or other members of their syndicate who in turn, sell it on to smelters. The smelters often sell it off to the Asian market who sell it back to South Africa at inflated prices. 

The sad fact is that everybody loses. 

The Real Cost of Cable Theft

Althon Beukes, CEO of Openserve, discussed the problem with copper theft  during the national lockdown with IT Web. He says, “During this period of national lockdown, being connected is of paramount importance for the safety of our families; being able to communicate with those outside our homes; being able to work from home; business continuity; and the overall economy of the country; as well as for essential services that are required by the country during this time.”

He adds, “From power cuts to network downtime, cable theft knocks out traffic lights, delays trains, plunges whole neighbourhoods into darkness, and cuts off critical communications.” 

The fact is that we need fast and stable connectivity now more than ever. With a healthy portion of the South African workforce trying to work remotely, and with so many operations taking their businesses online, we simply can’t afford the downtime. 

While there’s not much to be done with the power situation, this ongoing problem has encouraged people to search for alternatives to landlines which are so susceptible to cable theft. 

Alternatives to Copper Landlines

With Telkom having the monopoly on South African telephony systems, we may feel like we’re over a barrel. 

Thankfully, that’s not the case. 

GSM data connectivity, Hosted PBX and Fixed Voice options are gaining ground as an effective communications solution.

GSM Data Connectivity

Global System for Mobile (GSM) is a cellular technology for voice and data, and a popular choice for businesses who simply can’t afford downtime. 

Terrestrial GSM networks cover over 90% of the world’s population which means that you can use this option as your primary connectivity medium, or as a failover. In areas where you only have GSM connectivity, Huge Connect systems failover between multiple GSM networks. So, if your regular network goes down, you’re automatically switched across to GSM. No service interruption, no downtime.

A GSM data service from Huge Connect will integrate seamlessly into other wireless-based devices, is cost-effective and easy to maintain.

What are the downsides of GSM data connectivity?

GSM uses pulse-transmission technology which can cause interference with some electronics such as pacemakers or hearing aids. Depending on the number of users on the network, there can be some bandwidth lag which would result in slower speeds. 

Hosted PBX

There is no substitute for a phone call. Our customers want to know that we are on the other end of the line when they need us, which can prove tricky when the cable has been stolen. 

Hosted PBX, also known as a Virtual PBX, is an excellent option for all size businesses which makes use of your internet connection to manage all your voice communications. If you’re on a fibre connection then this is a brilliant choice for your business, with a quick and cost-effective and setup of a feature-packed system. 

Accept calls from your old landline number, internal call transfer, hunting line facilities, reliable and stable and monitored 24/7, a Hosted PBX is a great alternative. 

Fixed Voice

A Fixed Voice system from Huge makes use of GSM voice technology to bring you a landline equivalent minus the headache of cable theft. 

Fixed Location Wireless Phones are paired with our aggressively priced SIM cards, to provide an instant fixed line replacement service, anywhere that a GSM signal is present.  Your landline number can be quickly ported over to our service so there is no interruption or costly changes to your website or business cards.

Tell Us What You Want

COVID isn’t the only pandemic that we have to deal with. High call rates, cable theft and an ageing infrastructure all contribute to additional business challenges. 

We’d like to help where we can, and we’ve put together a mix of packages which are sure to benefit our small businesses as well as the corporate giants. 

Call us today for more information.