MTN South Africa is accelerating investments in alternative power sources and expects to be completely off-grid at most sites in the near future, according to CEO Charles Molapisi.
According to Molapisi, the reason for going off the grid is to reduce cases of theft and vandalism which have spiked during hours of load shedding.
Molapisi stated that MTN’s internal data shows that over 390 unique sites had been vandalised since January 2022 alone, with criminals returning to the same sites more than five times after each repair.
Additionally, over 1,000 vandalism incidents have been recorded during this period in the Eastern Cape, with cable, battery, equipment, and air conditioner theft all on the rise. Other items damaged and stolen are doors, containers, fences, security systems, and locks.
The telco also announced that it’s injecting R1.5 billion ($83 million) into a network resilience programme that will reduce the impact of load shedding.
Last week, Molapisi told the Business Times that MTN will have to raise prices to invest in backup power and theft-proofing their sites, further proof of the debilitating effects Eskom’s seemingly endless challenges continue to have on South African businesses.
