Contractor weighs in after Spectrum cables severed again
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - For the second time in two weeks, an internet outage was caused by vandalism.
Many frustrated customers are wondering why this is happening.
another fiber cut by vandals impacted some customers in the Kansas City area. Service had been restored earlier in the evening.
The fiber that was cut is located in a difficult-to-access wooded area.
Spectrum is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for any information.
On May 18, a line was also initially cut near 12th and Elmwood. That investigation is still ongoing.
According to the Kansas City Police Department, sometimes people will try to sell cut cables as scrap metal.
“The small return is not worth risking injury, jail time, or even death as a result of one wrong move around the power lines,” a spokesperson said. “Detectives are pursuing all leads to hold these offenders able.”
Austin Stevens, the President of Stevens Fiber Group, believes the people behind this are experienced.
“Maybe an employee, might have been a subcontractor, hadn’t been paid for the work they’d done,” Stevens said. “My opinion, whoever did this knew it wasn’t copper; this is worthless to anybody. You can’t take this and get anything for it.”
Stevens showed KCTV5 inside the fiber line, made up of glass, which has 12 ribbons in each tube. He points out how thick it is and can’t easily be cut.
“Looks like somebody had hooks, like climbing gear. It’s not like it was underground and was in some woods off the beaten path and did quite a bit of damage,” Stevens said.
FBI Kansas City is also aware of the situation and is working with Spectrum and KD.
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