Catching

Catching thieves from powering Belgium s telecom base stations

Fake base stations, or IMSI catchers, are increasingly used by state and criminal actors to spy, disrupt, or impersonate mobile users. These sites contain a wealth of valuable copper wire, high-performance batteries, and fuel. Thieves and vandals take advantage of remote locations of cell sites by. . In recent years, the number of 5G base stations has increased, and as the price of metal materials has risen, the bronze medals, copper wires, and copper tubes of communication base stations have been severely stolen. Batteries, feeders, and transformers have also become targets for thieves. The rate of vandalism and theft, especially multiple recurring incidents, sometimes can force the operators to abandon base stations due to unviable replacement costs.