Johannesburg - Criminals are targeting fibre operators in South Africa, with the Fibre to the Home (FTTH) Council being aware of at least six recent hijackings that have taken place in Gauteng.
Fibre, a thin strand of flexible glass, is a fast-growing method of providing vastly higher (that is, faster) bandwidth to consumers and businesses.
Juanita Clark, chief executive of FTTH Council South Africa, said expensive equipment needed to fuse the cables, is being stolen.
Read: Cell giants to extend fibre optics
“Telecommunications companies that are deploying fibre optic cables are being hijacked, and it’s regrettable because not only does this delay projects but it costs insurance companies millions,” she said.
The council’s president, Richard Came, said this seems well organised, as the criminals know exactly what they want, and approach vehicles on the side of the road, demanding exact equipment.
They are after fusion splicing equipment – a machine that is used to precisely align and join the two fibre ends.
“However, we are putting measures in place that will curb this trend going forward,” said Clark.
Read: Telkom announces massive fibre rollout
Connecting businesses and homes directly to fibre optic cable greatly enhances internet services.
Clark said current fibre optic technology can provide transmission speeds that allow for the download of a 4.7 GB video in less than seven minutes and a full music album in eight seconds.
“These staggering speeds on fibre to the home and business are changing the way we live.”
Companies such as Telkom, MWeb and Cybersmart currently have FTTH services as their flagship products.
Cybersmart announced this week that it is developing a new 400Mbps FTTH service, which it said will be available within two weeks.
MWeb announced earlier this month that it has decreased prices and increased cap sizes on some of its FTTH accounts in Joburg.
Telkom has committed to raising the number of connected households to 500 000 by December this year and to one million homes by 2018.
Saturday Star
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