THOUSANDS of frustrated subscribers today (Tuesday) enter their fifth day of being minus telephones following the Telkom cable catastrophe last Thursday morning.
Workers installing new lines inadvertently destroyed a 2 400 line main cable from the Arboretum exchange to the Richards Bay CBD, cutting through copper and optic fibre cables which were buried far shallower than they thought.
Immediately, businesses, banks, shops, hospitals and offices – including the Zululand Observer – were left without Telkom phone, email and internet services.
The optic fibre cables were soon repaired but the lengthy and complicated process of restoring the land lines continues.
Technicians and cable joiners working day and night at the intersection of the R619 and East Central Arterial had managed to reconnect about 20% of the lines by late Monday.
However, while the remainder were expected to be completed by late Tuesday, problems with laying pipes to install new cables under the R619 could mean delays until Wednesday and beyond for some.
And while rain that is forecast this week would be welcomed by most, for the cable repair team it would be a major setback.
