Around 2,000 BT network broadband and telephone customers in Farningham, Kent have lost their broadband connections after the copper cables have been stolen by thieves.
On Wednesday thieves cut six cables in five places and stole the copper cable, which is the second time in a year that this has happened in this area. The total length of copper cable to be replaced is around 2 miles and everyone is hopefully due to be back online by the end of today (Monday).
A statement from BT to the BBC said:
“It is a very complex and time consuming repair job. We are doing all we can to restore services as quickly as possible. Up to 2,000 customers were affected and services have now been restored for nearly half of them. We hope to have completed the work by end of Monday.“
Copper is highly sought after as it’s price has shot up in recent years which makes it a target for criminals to make money on.
It isn’t just Broadband. There are also entities such as ‘Lifeline’ emergency phone lines that are cut. In the 71 hours of the cut there could have been fatalities due to non communication. It is curious as to why BT have not made their lines less accessable. I also note that BT made sure the cuts did not go over 72 hours – thereby avoiding compensation payments.
As for the crime – perhaps the criminals should be tried under the Terrorism Act (?)
Comment by Nick Baker — April 26, 2010 @ 11:21 am
There seems to have been a complete lack of communication from BT regarding this issue. I reported a problem with my phone line and broadband connection last week, but no one got back to me to let me know how long the line would be down for, or what had caused the problem. I was left to learn about it on the local TV news last night. I agree that BT need to make sure that their cable is more secure to avoid further thefts, because it’s not acceptible for paying customers to go without telephone and internet access for nearly a week.
Comment by E Judge — April 26, 2010 @ 2:02 pm