Thousands of WilCo residents without internet due to damage, theft of fiber optic cables
Thousands of WilCo residents without power
Some Williamson County residents woke up without the internet due to criminals cutting fiber optic cables.
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas - Some Williamson County residents woke up without the internet on Monday.
Optimum said its fiber optic network was targeted by criminals, causing a widespread outage.
The backstory:
Georgetown police say the damage knocked out the internet for 20,000 people and disrupted service for T-Mobile customers.
It happened in the area of 1100 N. Austin Avenue, just north of downtown Georgetown, on Monday, July 13.
A preliminary investigation estimates the damage tops $100,000.
What they're saying:
"Six different fiber optic cables were damaged. Somebody just sawed through it. I don't know exactly how or what tools or what not, but they essentially climbed up and cut it," said Derek Nipps, with Optimum.
Optimum says the vandalism impacted about one-third of its customers in Georgetown, Jarrell, Sun City, Serenada, Weir, Santa Rita Ranch, Florence and Granger.
Copper theft has become a growing concern as it's in high demand. Criminals search for it to sell them illegally. But Optimum says its fiber optic network does not contain copper.
"Whenever they cut us, they're not getting anything out of it. And it's essentially just impacting the thousands of residents around the area, businesses, and critical services like 911," said Nipps.
Credit: Optimum
Repairing the damage is an intricate process. Each strand must be carefully spliced back together in a protective enclosure. The dozens of precise connections are about the size of a strand of human hair.
Optimum says cutting the lines can disrupt critical services like 911 emergency communications, which puts public safety at risk.
"If somebody tries to call 911, and they can't get out because the cell towers are down, that impacts everybody in that footprint, which in turn, you know, makes it harder for critical responders and all that to be able to help in case of an emergency," said Nipps.
Optimum encourages residents and businesses to stay alert for any unmarked vehicles working near the infrastructure without proper identification.
"If you see someone out on the lines at 10 p.m., and they're in a pickup truck that has no markings on it or anything like that, report it because the extensive amount of damage they can do impacts them and all their neighbors and everyone in the community in some way or form," said Nipps.
T-Mobile outage in Georgetown
Georgetown police say there was a T-Mobile outage caused by damaged fiber lines. The department said, as a result, it received a high volume of calls to its 911 communications center to see if 911 is still working.
Georgetown PD is urging residents to not call 911 just to check.
They added the lines are functioning properly, and the department will provide updates if anything changes.
What's next:
This remains an active investigation.
Detectives are reviewing available evidence, including surveillance footage, and are working to identify who is responsible.
Optimum said service is expected to be restored early Tuesday morning.
T-Mobile said they are looking into it.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Jenna King