Browsing: Ernest Paul

Criminals, angry that they aren’t able to steal MTN’s highly secured batteries, have taken to trashing other infrastructure at its base stations.

MTN South Africa said on Wednesday that inroads are being made in the fight against battery theft at its base stations and that police are making progress in shutting down the syndicates behind the scourge.

MTN South Africa said on Tuesday that it’s some making progress in fighting the scourge of cellphone tower battery theft, though the problem is far from being overcome.

MTN South Africa has shut down 53 base stations on a permanent basis due to “severe damage and vandalism”. Thirty-nine of these towers were in Tshwane and 15 in Johannesburg.

At least 500 Vodacom base stations in South Africa are targeted each month by criminal syndicates, with batteries and copper cables the main target, the company said on Thursday.

There has been an alarming rise in incidents of battery theft from cellphone towers in South Africa and urgent action is needed to address the situation, MTN said on Monday.