About two dozen cellular base stations in shopping malls were damaged during the riots that swept KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng last week, but information and telecommunications services were maintained even as operators' stores were looted.
The ICT sector is still counting the cost, but it proved resilient in the face of some of the worst service disruption yet seen in SA.
Vodacom told Business Times that between five and 10 base stations were damaged in mall fires. MTN said infrastructure had been damaged at seven of these sites.
Telkom said none of its infrastructure was reported to be damaged as a direct result of the unrest, but service interruptions were caused by electricity supply and transmission-related problems. These, however, were no different to the disruptions the company deals with "on a daily basis as normal course of business".
"Vandalism of communications infrastructure is an ongoing serious problem in South Africa," said Telkom mobile network managing executive Hugo van Zyl. "The running costs to repair can represent 15%-20% of Telkom's 'business as usual' capital expenditure. In addition to repairs, Telkom needs to spend vast amounts maintaining and protecting our sites.
"In general, the theft of cables and infrastructure costs South Africa more than R7bn per year. The money spent fixing damaged sites draws investment away from providing additional coverage and capacity to provide better service to customers. Battery theft and vandalism pose a very serious risk to all of South Africa."
During the riots, he said, Telkom was able to address most service interruptions remotely. Where site dispatches were required, all services were restored this week.
Van Zyl said the theft from and vandalism of cellular towers make it challenging to enable the communication that ensured vital services are delivered, as they slow down communications and connectivity and hamper people's access to emergency services.
Vodacom spokesperson Byron Kennedy said that during the unrest "there were instances where it was unsafe for Vodacom to deploy technicians and suppliers to physically visit network sites to remedy day-to-day issues or conduct scheduled maintenance".
"We attend to these sites when safe to do so," he said. "Vodacom would like to reassure customers that it has put contingency measures in place so that we keep customers connected in areas which may be impacted by any ongoing unrest. In instances where it may be unsafe to deploy technicians and suppliers to physically visit sites to conduct scheduled maintenance, we will attend to these as speedily as possible. "
Kennedy said that stores and base stations that were affected by fires at malls would be operational when the malls reopened for business.
"During the course of last week, many Vodacom stores in [KwaZulu-Natal] and some others in parts of Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, Free State and Western Cape were closed on a temporary basis. Most of the franchise stores that were temporarily closed are now open for business. Vodacom is still assessing the extent of the damage caused to retail outlets."
MTN SA executive for corporate affairs Jacqui O'Sullivan said more than 1,000 MTN employees had not been able get to work during the unrest.
"High volumes of calls and queries from our customers could not be resolved as our primary call centre remained inaccessible," she said. "This is starting to improve as stores and roads reopen. Employees that are unable to return to their stores due to the extent of the damage inflicted on those sites are being redirected to support various other channels, such as taking customer calls.
"MTN is still assessing the cost of the damage and our employees will return to work as soon as it is safe to go into the affected areas."
One of the country's largest ICT distributors, Tarsus, informed customers on July 12 that deliveries in KwaZulu-Natal were suspended until further notice, and delivery delays could be expected in Gauteng. It also reduced opening hours countrywide, closing at 3pm each day to allow staff to get home early. On July 19 it announced that it was resuming normal trading hours, and was commencing with delayed deliveries.
It appeared that the worst-hit company in the ICT sector was Mustek, one of SA's largest assemblers and distributors of personal computers and ICT products. CEO David Kan advised shareholders in a company notice this week that total losses to inventory and equipment during looting of its Durban branch in the riot-hit Riverhorse area were not expected to exceed R20m.
"The loss of profit due to business interruption will be quantified in due course," he said. "The group has appropriate insurance cover and has notified its insurers accordingly. Temporary warehouse space has been secured and the group expects the branch to be reopening as soon as it is safe and practical to do so. Trade continues as normal in the rest of the group's operations."
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.