Cable Industry Launches Coalition to Focus on Network Vandalism
The cable ISP industry has assembled a coalition of senior executives to combat vandalism and other damage to communications networks. Chairing the Strategic Threat Response & Infrastructure Knowledge Exchange (STRIKE) is Comcast Chief Network Officer Elad Nafshi. Tom Monaghan, Charter Communications' executive vice president of field operations, is vice chairman. NCTA and CableLabs subsidiary SCTE, which are spearheading STRIKE, said members also include Altice USA, Cable One, Cox, Mediacom, Rogers and GCI.
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"Copper theft is nothing new, but its impact has escalated," SCTE CEO Maria Popo said in an emailed statement. "Felony attacks in Missouri are up 200% year-over-year, AT&T is absorbing seven-figure repair costs, and soaring copper prices have made communications networks a high-value target," she noted. "That’s why STRIKE unites the most senior technical leaders from every operator to share insights, collaborate on prevention and rapid response, and elevate this threat with government as a national infrastructure crisis."
NCTA, CTIA, USTelecom and NTCA have urged Congress to consider federally criminalizing communications network vandalism and theft (see 2411190058). Some of those same groups, as well as ACA Connects, urged federal agencies in July to treat deliberate damage to communications networks, such as fiber-optic cable cuts, as domestic terrorism in certain instances (see 2507300023). Charter labeled damage to its network in California and Missouri earlier this year domestic terrorism (see 2507150002).
“It’s an absolute fact that in many jurisdictions the penalties for harming broadband networks for profit or otherwise must be moved way, way up; it means felonies not wrist slaps," emailed former FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly. "But in many places, recyclers need to do more to reject illegally obtained copper and fiber and notify law enforcement, and there is an educational component to inform the dumbest criminals that fiber doesn’t have copper.”
NCTA and SCTE said Wednesday that STRIKE's objectives include spotlighting broadband damage "as a top-tier national security threat" and establishing "clear, unified communication" with government stakeholders. The group will hold its first meeting at SCTE's TechExpo, which is Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Washington.
STRIKE won't be lobbying, but "enhancing industry coordination among operations and public policy to advance advocacy efforts at the state and federal levels," NCTA Chief Technology Officer Rikin Thakker said in an emailed statement. The coalition "is but one part of a broad, concerted effort to raise awareness about the significance of physical attacks on communications networks." NCTA and the cable industry "continue to work with other industry trade associations and providers, including CTIA, USTelecom, NTCA, [the Wireless Infrastructure Association], and ACA Connects," he added.
Also in an emailed statement, ACA Connects President Grant Spellmeyer said that "given the vital role of high-speed internet for consumers, the economy, and national security, America’s Communications Association emphasizes that protecting our broadband infrastructure should be a top priority for operators, law enforcement, and government officials." The group is "committed to collaborating with NCTA and our industry partners to adopt a layered approach to tackle the growing problem of network attacks that threaten our Members’ ability to keep their communities connected.”