Heavy rains in KZN disrupt Telkom's services

The group said it had deployed technicians to work around the clock in KwaZulu-Natal, however it added that the large COP17 delegation accommodated in the region had also presented the company with a challenge.

"In this busy period, Telkom is unable to secure temporary lodging for technical staff from other regions to be brought in to alleviate the fault backlog," it said.

"Unfavourable weather conditions have wreaked havoc on KwaZulu-Natal recently. The number of outdoor network-related faults has almost trebled over the past three weeks due to the extreme weather.

"The Durban Metro areas, including Pinetown and the Durban CBD, have been worst hit," it said.

Floods hamper repair work, maintenance

Telkom's customer fault reporting centres had also experienced a significant increase in call volumes. "The continuing rain has had a significant impact on the time it takes to restore services," it said.

Flooding had also restricted Telkom's technicians from accessing fault zones.

"Outdoor and underground infrastructure such as tunnels and manholes cannot be accessed while it is raining and Telkom technicians are left with very little time to resolve faults in the short periods when the rain does subside," the group noted.

Telkom said it was sensitive to the smooth running of the conference's communication facilities and had ring-fenced a dedicated team of technicians to resolve any faults linked to COP17.

"We are mobilising all available technicians to work additional hours in order to address outstanding faults as expeditiously as possible," said Theo Hess, Telkom's managing executive for network field services.

The Company advised customers to ensure that deregulated premise equipment such as telephone headsets, modems and computing devices were ICASA-approved instruments or devices that had adequate lightning protection.