Consumers could bare the cost of cell tower battery theft
Vandalism and thefts continue to hit telecommunications giants - during load shedding.
MTN says it's managed to recover more than a million rand worth of batteries stolen from cell towers.
MTN's General Manager for Network Operations, Ernest Paul says they're still battling to track down the syndicates targeting these base stations.
"MTN has spent around about R300 million last year alone in replacement costs for batteries. We probably spend another R300 million in repair and security costs."
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"This is an unplanned cost that the network didn't plan for and we are not seeing a decrease, and in some point, in time I am just extremely concerned that the consumer may be paying for the cost in the long-term," he said.
One hundred forty-three batteries were recovered in January.
Three suspects were arrested in Port Shepstone this month.
Police found 48 cellphone tower batteries worth almost half-a-million-rand in their possession.
