Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) has been losing about RM50 million a year to telecommunicaton cable theft, according to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

MCMC chairperson Halim Shafie said the culprits often targeted copper cables used for Streamyx service.

"The Streamyx service which is based on copper cabling can be found at petrol stations and shops.

"As a result of cable theft, telecommunication and broadband internet access are also affected," he told reporters at the presentation of premises numbers at Pangkor Island today.

Consumers, who were unaware of such thefts, often complained of poor service, he said.

"Reinstalling the cables is time consuming and incurs high costs," he said.

Meanwhile, Halim said people living on Pangkor Island would be able to enjoy 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network soon.

- Bernama