South African fixed-line utility Telkom is still investigating the cause of a network failure in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday, stemming from an unspecified cable break.
Telkom chief technical officer Thami Msimango says the problem was detected at about 4am yesterday, and the cable breakage was traced to Ladysmith.
All fixed-line and mobile communication in KwaZulu-Natal, as well as into Botswana, was severely affected, and Msimango says limited ingoing and outgoing voice capability was available to and from Botswana yesterday.
According to Telkom, the problem was rectified at about noon yesterday, but the company is yet to determine what led to the failure.
A Telkom spokesperson was unable to say how many fixed-line users were affected by the failure, or how much the incident cost the company. These details, he says, will be released as soon as the investigation into the problem is complete.
However, Msimango confirms there was heavy congestion on calls going into KwaZulu-Natal and, within SA, mobile and corporate customers were also affected.
At this stage, Telkom is examining every possibility for the cable breakage, and cable theft has not been excluded, the spokesperson adds.
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