Copper load of this

Copper thieves have become a big problem to incumbent wireline operator Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC), affecting its customers and undermining its finances. Since June this year, BTC has spent BWP1.6 million (USD274,000) replacing stolen copper wires, which are being dug up and sold to scrap metal merchants. The thefts are causing increased network faults that are also affecting the country’s two cellcos, Mascom Wireless and Orange Botswana, which rent capacity from BTC, and are usually impaired when it experiences downtime.