Newmarket residents experienced the impact of wire vandalism Wednesday as a cut to a fibre cable led to outages for some Rogers customers.
Rogers reported that someone cutting a fibre cable in Newmarket caused an extended outage impacting their services in several parts of the Newmarket area Feb. 12. The matter was reported to York Regional Police and is part of a spiking trend, according to telecommunications companies, with more vandals trying to get at their infrastructure, seeking copper to sell.
“Telecommunications networks are essential to keeping communities connected, and incidents like this have real consequences for local residents,” a Rogers spokesperson said. “The vandalism that caused this fibre cut is part of a rise in the targeting of critical network infrastructure, disrupting service and impacting people who rely on our network for work, school, and emergency communications."
York Regional Police confirmed it is investigating a mischief call in the area of Yonge Street and Eagle Street, around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. The line was repaired later that day, though the outage impacted parts of Newmarket into the afternoon.
Rogers said it has experienced a four to five-times increase in outages due to vandalism since 2022, which typically take three to four times longer to repair than other outages due to the extent and of the damage and associated repairs.
The Canadian Telecommunications Association said the rise relates to an increase in the number of copper thefts, with vandals looking to cut lines to acquire and sell copper wire as scrap metal. Big telecommunications have reported significant increases in the past few years including Telus and Bell.
“Our industry is experiencing a significant rise in copper theft and vandalism targeting telecommunications infrastructure, with incidents increasing by up to 200 per cent annually since 2022,” the association said. “These crimes lead to communities losing access to communications services, jeopardizing public safety, and disrupting local businesses and critical services. To protect the public, we need tougher criminal laws that address these serious offences.”
The association has also advocated for changes in the Criminal Code that could help the situation.
The association said service providers are spending millions annually to repair or replace network equipment due to vandalism, and it takes on average eight to 12 hours to repair.