Wet lines break communication
Wet phone lines are blamed for non-functioning Telkom phones
This is according to Telkom after tenants and business owners in Oasis Centre, Empangeni have been unable to use their phones since last Thursday.
The faulty lines were reported to Telkom last Thursday but some businesses phones are still not working and there is concern about how much longer this will continue.
The problem, according to an official at the Faults Department, a subdivision in Telkom, is due to ‘wet lines’ which run underground. The soil covering the lines gets saturated when high rainfall is experienced which then wets the phone lines.
However, businesses owners in and around the centre feel that if Telkom know what the problem is, then why has it not been fixed.
The official explained, ‘Telkom is made up of subdivisions. The Faults Department is aware of the problem and has made contact with the Cable Department. It is their job to go out and unearth the cable to inspect and repair the problem.’
However, nothing to date, had been done to rectify it.
A frustrated business owner said she can barely function without access to her businesses phone lines. ‘Customers cannot call in and place orders or inquire about our services. We cannot access the internet or fax machines and this is all costing me money. I have been given three different numbers trying to sort-out the problem with Telkom and I still have not received any positive results.’
Other businesses, in and around Ukhulu Street, also experienced issues with their phone lines late last week although a few of them did report they were up and running again by Wednesday.
At the time of going to press the head of the Cable Department was unavailable for comment and no confirmation on when the ‘wet lines’ would be working again have been received.
