PLDT, Smart join industry war against illegal cable cutting

PLDT and Smart joined other industry members to double down on the fight against illegal and intentional cable cutting. Read on for more!

PLDT, Smart is going full force against illegal cable cutters!

PLDT, Smart to fight illegal cable cutting along with other industry members

With other cable and telecommunications companies around the nation, PLDT and Smart have joined the "Oplan Kontra Putol" campaign, which denounces unlawful cable cutting as a disservice to customers. Criminals who purposefully break cables and wires for profit frequently resell stolen materials as part of their illegal activities.

The effort includes a thorough consumer education program, the implementation of effective security and patrolling systems, and a closer working relationship with local government agencies. Additionally, the group has urged law enforcement organizations to put Republic Act No. 10515, popularly known as the Anti-Cable Television and Cable Internet Tapping Act of 2013, into effect. 

This law makes intentional cable cutting a crime. Currently, those responsible for similar crimes are typically charged with crimes like theft, qualifying theft, or malicious mischief, all of which fall under the Revised Penal Code.

The group also urges barangays and LGUs to alert local authorities, local police, and the appropriate service providers whenever they suspect or discover intentional cable cutting in their communities or among their people.

In order to ensure that families and communities have unrestricted access to connectivity and telco services, PLDT has been at the forefront of industry-wide measures for the mutual protection of telecommunications infrastructure across the nation.

The National Telecommunications Security Council (NTSC), an informal group composed of Corporate Security Professionals from the various telcos, was organized and launched by PLDT's Asset Protection & Security Risk Governance (APSRG) in June of this year with the goal of facilitating the sharing of intelligence information and the coordination of activities against the shared threat posed by thieves and other offenders.

Between January to July 2021 and January to July 2022, PLDT saw a rise in arrests for crimes including theft 422 percent year over year. The rate of arrests is higher than the same period's 59 percent increase in loss instances. These instances involve many types of network hardware, including cables and batteries.

In addition to partnering with "force multipliers" in local government, law enforcement, and other industry security groups, PLDT's increased asset protection activities also involve the use of analytics to allocate security resources. These initiatives have led to a 45 percent increase in arrests and a 55 percent decrease in loss events between April and July 2022 alone.

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