The apparent theft of some Telus-owned fibre-optic cables that left some residents without internet, television, or the ability to dial 911 on a landline on Tuesday is now under investigation by the RCMP.
The theft occurred in the early hours of Jan. 9 and services were restored early Wednesday morning, said Telus spokesperson Martin Nguyen in a statement.
“At approximately 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 9, vandals cut and stole a significant amount of our cables in St. Albert, causing extensive damage in the area and disrupting Internet, TV and home phone services for some customers,” Nguyen said. “Wireless services were not affected, meaning customers [could have used] their cellphones to stay connected and in the event of an emergency.”
The outage, according to the map on the Telus website, affected those in the Deer Ridge, North Ridge, and the Lacombe Park neighbourhoods.
Nguyen didn't specify where in St. Albert the theft occurred; however, Alberta RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Gina Slaney said it occurred underneath one of the bridges over the Sturgeon River
Nguyen said because of the extensive damage, maintenance crews worked through the night to restore services, which came back online around 4:30 a.m..
He added that “specialized equipment,” replacement cables, and additional technicians were required to repair the damage.
“We know how critical connectivity is for our customers, and would like to thank them for their patience and understanding,” he said.
“We are also working closely with the local police to investigate the vandalism and ensure the full extent of possible charges are pursued.”
Slaney confirmed local RCMP were investigating the theft, but as of Jan. 10 at 11 a.m., there were no updates on whether any suspects have been identified.
“I'm assuming it's worth money, but I'm not sure what they're using it for,” Slaney said, when asked if RCMP knew why people might steal fibre-optic cables.
“We do get reports of a lot of copper thefts. I'm not sure if I would call it a trend, but it is happening.”
Slaney also said it would be difficult for the RCMP to produce statistics on how frequently reports of fibre cables or copper wire are received in Alberta since there isn't a specific criminal charge related to theft of either item, and any reports of such instances are simply classified as thefts.
An unrelated issue also caused a partial Telus outage near downtown Edmonton yesterday, but that issue was later fixed as well.
On Wednesday, the company's online outage map showed two more service disruptions in Edmonton, one just west of Commonwealth Stadium that was still being investigated as of 11 a.m., while a damaged cable in Edmonton's Aldergrove neighbourhood caused customers to lose access to internet and TV services.
