Suspected copper theft knocked out internet and phone calls for thousands of people in Calgary

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Several communities in north Calgary were left without Shaw Internet and phone service after vandals cut a fiber line early Tuesday in what is being described as a suspected copper wire theft — the second such incident in less than a month.

According to Shaw, the outages will affect approximately 5,000 customers and multiple services, including internet, business internet, phone, business phone, TV and more.

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According to Shaw Services, affected Shaw customers are in Balmoral, Brentwood, Bridgeland Riverside, Capitol Hill, Charleswood, Collingwood, Crescent Heights, Hillhurst, Mayfair, Mountview, Mountview, Pleasant, North Haven, Renfrew, Rosemont, Sunnyside and Tuxedo Park. break page.

The outages are due to fiber cuts caused by vandalism and theft of copper wire, Shaw said in an emailed statement to Postmedia.

“We have contacted local authorities and there are technical teams working to restore services as quickly as possible,” said Shaw, who has been Rogers' parent company since last year.

“Vandal-related outages can take 3 to 4 times longer to repair than any other type of outage, depending on the extent of damage and associated repairs.”

The update noted that it could take 8 to 12 hours to repair the damaged fiber network. The first outage was reported at 5:20 a.m. Tuesday.

Are you a Shaw customer affected by today's outage? Let us know how it affects you by contacting us at [email protected].

Outages due to vandalism are increasing

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A separate outage that lasted most of the day in early May was linked to an attempted copper theft and caused widespread disruption for thousands of Calgarians.

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

According to a May 13 call to action by the Canadian Telecommunications Security Advisory Committee (CSTAC), vandalism and copper theft are a problem across the telecommunications industry.

The organization says access to reliable telecommunications services is critical to Canadians.

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

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

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In a 2023 cable vandalism incident in Calgary, thieves stole Telus cable, leaving 2,000 people without access to voice, Internet or television service for several days, CSTAC reported.

In the first months of 2024, Telus was the victim of nine cable theft and vandalism incidents, according to CSTAC. “January saw a 100% year-over-year increase in incidents and a 49% increase in downtime.”

It takes an average of 10-12 hours for telecom providers to fully restore services to their customers after an incident, although in some cases it takes significantly longer for major repairs, especially in hard-to-reach areas, the committee said.

“There have been cases where entire communities have been without phone, wireless and internet service for extended periods of time until repairs are completed.”

The Canadian Telecommunications Security Advisory Committee encourages Canadians to report crimes or suspicious activity targeting telecommunications infrastructure to law enforcement.

More to come…

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