Suspected copper theft cuts internet, phone for thousands in Calgary

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Several north Calgary communities remain without Shaw internet and phone service after vandals cut a fibre line early Tuesday, in what is described as suspected copper wire theft.

Outages affect approximately 5000 customers and multiple services including internet, business Internet, phone, business phone, TV, and more according to Shaw.

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Affected Shaw customers are in the Balmoral, Brentwood, Bridgeland-Riverside, Capitol Hill, Charleswood, Collingwood, Crescent Heights, Hillhurst, Mayfair, Mountview, Mt Pleasant, National, North Haven, Renfrew, Rosemont, Sunnyside and Tuxedo Park areas, according to Shaw’s service outage page.

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The interruptions are due to a fibre cut caused by vandalism, and suspected theft of copper wire, said Shaw in an emailed statement to Postmedia.

“We have contacted local authorities and have technical teams on-site, working to restore services as soon as possible,” said Shaw, which has had Rogers as its parent company since last year.

“Outages due to vandalism can also take 3-4 times longer to repair than any other outage types due to extent of damage and associated repairs.”

The update noted that repairing a damaged fibre line can take between 8 to 12 hours. The initial outage notice was issued at 5:20 a.m. Tuesday.

Are you a Shaw customer affected by the outage? Tell us how it’s affecting you by contacting SWilhelm@postmedia.com.

Vandalism related outages on the rise

A separate outage earlier in May, which lasted the better part of a day, was attributed to attempted copper theft and caused widespread disruptions for thousands of Calgarians.

Vandalism related outages are increasing year over year at a rapid pace, read the emailed statement from Rogers, together with Shaw. The company has experienced a 4-5 times increase in outages due to vandalism since 2022.

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Vandalism and attempted copper theft is an issue across the telecommunications industry, according to a May 13 call to action by the Canadian Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (CSTAC).

The organization states that access to reliable telecommunications services is essential for Canadians.

“As part of Canada’s critical infrastructure, telecommunication networks are vital to the public’s health, safety, security and economic well-being,” said CSTAC.

“These acts are not victimless crimes and can have a serious impact on public health and safety. They disrupt emergency 9-1-1 and fire services, and adversely affect hospitals, schools and businesses,” read the notice.

A cable damage event that occurred in Calgary in 2023 where theives stole Telus cable left 2,000 people 2,000 people without access to voice, Internet or TV services for multiple days, CSTAC said.

In the first few months of 2024, Telus had nine cable theft and vandalism event according to CSTAC. “January saw a 100% increase in incidents year-over-year with a 49% increase in outage duration.”

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On average, it takes 10 to 12 hours after an incident for telecommunications providers to fully restore services to their customers, though in some cases it takes significantly longer, particularly for complex repairs in hard-to-access locations, said the committee.

“There have been instances where entire communities were left without telephone, wireless and Internet services for extended periods until repairs were completed.”

The Canadian Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee is encouraging Canadians to report crimes or suspicious activities targeting telecommunications infrastructure to law enforcement.

More to come …

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