Reducing copper in cables to beat thieves

With copper theft on the rise due to the value of the metal used in communications equipment, a component manufacturer has developed an alternative cable which uses less copper.

Telecoms equipment manufacturer CommScope has developed a copper-alternative grounding wire, which is basically an electrical conductor that has copper metallurgically bonded to a solid steel core. The development makes the cable less susceptible to theft by increasing the resistance to cutting and drastically decreases the scrap value through lower copper content. For inside plant bonding and grounding applications, the firm also produces a copper clad aluminium version.

CommScope said that the ongoing volatility of copper pricing has created a major concern for the telecommunications industry, in which telecoms operators traditionally use copper ground wire for network grounding and bonding, as copper wire becomes an attractive target for thieves intent on stealing it for sale to scrap dealers.

As copper theft continues to grow as a global problem and copper raw material costs increase, the use of copper clad steel alternatives have gained acceptance in more and more applications.