FCC's Trusty: Close Loopholes to Help Stop Network Vandalism

Federal statutes cover government-owned communications facilities, but the vast majority of networks are privately owned and covered by a patchwork of state laws, Trusty said. U.S. code needs to be amended so willful attacks against private networks are a federal crime, carrying penalties that match their severity, she argued.

NCTA, CTIA, USTelecom and NTCA previously called for making deliberate attacks on communications networks a federal offense (see 2411190058).

Trusty said hardening targets should include improvements such as better physical security for fiber lines and towers, more cameras and more tamper-proof housing and alarms. She also called for more data-sharing among providers so they can monitor their networks for patterns of attacks. In addition, industry needs to support prosecutors’ efforts by offering the evidence required to secure convictions, she said.

Kuper Jones, NCTA's senior director of state and external affairs, said gaps in scrap-metal regulation are a big driver of the network damage, with thieves seemingly trying to extract copper, even though they're often targeting copper-less fiber-optic infrastructure.

In an updated white paper released Tuesday, telecom industry groups said the first half of 2025 saw 9,770 reported incidents of intentional theft or damage to communications networks -- significantly more than the 5,770 reported in the same period in 2024.

California and Texas are particular hot spots of such activity, which means solutions need to be focused there, Western Carolina University economist Edward Lopez said.

Jones noted that while some states' laws protecting critical infrastructure include telecommunications networks, others don't always cover telecom or all parts of those networks. Areas of networks that aren't fenced off sometimes don't fall under state critical infrastructure laws, he said. He also cited gaps in some state laws where protections for telecommunication lines apply only to telephone or telegraph lines.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said a lot of the practices his state uses to tackle issues such as organized retail theft and fentanyl smuggling also could be applied to network vandalism interdiction, noting that the AG's office created statewide task forces for those problems to share resources and information. There are some "bad actors" willing to buy illegally procured copper, creating a marketplace and incentivizing theft, he said, and some publicized busts around such scrap-metal dealers could help as a deterrent.

Bonta said there's also a need for more information-sharing across jurisdictions, especially as criminal groups often work across counties. He noted one approach that California took to organized retail crime gangs, which allowed any county to charge all the crimes associated with a particular case, even if some happened in other counties, to increase accountability. That approach might also be valuable in tackling network vandalism, he said.

Susan Santana, president of AT&T's California and Nevada operations, said the carrier has taken numerous steps to fight vandalism, from locking up manholes and putting sensors throughout lines to announcing rewards for tips that result in convictions of copper thieves. At the same time, she said, "it becomes a [game of] Whac-a-Mole," with thieves moving their activity from county to county.

"There's no panacea" that will solve the problem, Bonta replied. He said a statewide initiative would be announced soon that would propose legislation and work on enforcement and public awareness.

Santana expressed hope that California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) would soon sign AB-476, which would tighten state regulation of scrap-metal dealers.

The FCC's Trusty said households and businesses also should consider transitioning from traditional copper lines to alternatives like fiber and wireless, as those technologies are less vulnerable to copper theft and provide better connectivity.