How LatAm telcos grapple with copper cable theft

Higher copper prices are contributing to rising copper cable theft, leading to cost and operational difficulties for telcos in Latin America.

"It is a problem that is growing in frequency and whose impact is higher every day as we have a more interconnected society," Horacio Romanelli, regional regulatory affairs director at Millicom, told BNamericas.

Although copper is losing relevance to fiber optics, home voice and data infrastructure is supported "to great extent" by copper sections, according to a report by Telefónica de Argentina.

Copper prices have been rising since mid-2020, making cables valuable for criminals.

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In early February, Chilean authorities seized 12t (150km) of copper cables, stolen from Movistar, valued at US$100,000 in San Antonio port from a vessel with South Korea as destination.

In 2021, Movistar Chile registered over 4,000 fiber optics and copper cable cuts related to theft, and 10,000 over the last three years.

In Latin America, Telefónica deals with such problems mainly in Chile, Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina. But unlike other companies, it offers related data.

Between February 2021 and February 2022, Telefónica de Argentina registered 13,268 copper cable thefts and over 1mn meters of stolen copper cable, which implies nearly 440,000 affected customers, an average of 1,200 per day. Replacing and repairing the lines costs the company 2bn pesos (US$18.4mn) per year.

Most recent data from Brazilian operators association Conexis shows that in the first half of 2021, 2.3mn meters of cables were stolen, 14.5% more than in the same period of 2020. And in 2020, some 4.6mn meters of cable were stolen, 16% more than in 2019.

Overall, theft caused service interruptions for some 6.7mn customers, according to Conexis.

In January and February, Brazil’s Claro registered six thefts related to copper cable and fiber optics infrastructure, losing 400m of cable, according to local press.

Often, copper cable theft leads to destruction of fiber optics and the consequent mobilization of technical teams to reestablish service.

“The main reasons for fiber optics outages in our operations are theft of cables mistaking them for copper cables, works that are not properly coordinated, or road accidents,” said Romanelli.

Telefónica de Argentina said it had experienced 4,533 fiber optics cuts between February 2021 and February 2022.

Chile’s VTR also saw outages due to vandalism, prompting investigations by regulator Subtel.

In the third quarter of 2021, Subtel requested information from VTR for a failure that left 26,000 users in Providencia district and downtown Santiago without service, one that affected 58,000 users in five districts of Metropolitan region, another that affected 24,000 users in Providencia and Santiago, and one that affected 27,000 users in Puente Alto district.

All episodes were caused by external intervention, VTR claimed.

"We are aware of the difficulties that these vandalism cuts generate for people, who are directly affected, and we are emphatic in saying that these events must stop," VTR corporate affairs director Lorena Schmitt told BNamericas.

In addition to affecting users and economic losses, service outages can affect disconnection statistics (churn). “Depending on the severity of the outage or the frequency of outages, [churn] can be significant. People have to be able to trust that the service will be working when they need it,” Romanelli said.

VTR, for example, has been losing market share. According to Subtel, VTR concentrated 29.8% of the fixed internet market at the end of September, down 5.8% year-on-year. At end-2021, market share had fallen to 28.5%.

To cuts affecting critical lines that connect key nodes, the direct cost of a service outage must be added, including the purchase of connectivity from other providers.

OTHER CRIMES

Other telecommunications-related crimes impact the sector too.

Telefónica’s report mentions an illegal batteries market. “To carry out this crime, in all cases there is damage to the physical installations and electronic equipment of the base station operating system, which directly affects the provision of the service and the citizens who use it.”

In Venezuela, operators even refused to repair the affected infrastructure.

“At some point in those places there was private surveillance, but due to cost issues there is no longer and then cables, equipment or batteries are stolen. The impact is very big and, in some cases, the company decides not to fix it anymore and the service is no longer provided in that area,” Pedro Marín, president of Venezuelan operators association Casetel, previously told BNamericas.

PREVENTION

“Last year we started with a proactive strategy to detect, report and stop these events. The strategy comprises the location of guards who take care of strategic points and are attentive to denouncing court cases and the use of drones,” Schmitt said.

Telefónica de Argentina mentioned underground pipes, higher poles, and alarms installed along the network as effective prevention measures.

By early March, VTR had filed 347 legal complaints to combat this crime. Some cable thieves have received prison terms of up to 541 days, said Schmitt.

In Argentina, there were meetings between operators, the police and authorities from the public prosecutor’s office in Chubut province to advance a prevention plan.

In Brazil, Conexis calls for coordinated action involving all branches of government, including at federal and local levels. Various bills are being considered to toughen or adapt sentences related to cable theft or vandalism.

Telefónica also proposes more control in the metal or alloy marketing chain through certifications and periodic audits to discourage illegal trade.

With additional reporting by Pedro Ozores