A massive telecom outage has cut off internet, mobile, and landline services for thousands of residents across northwestern B.C. after thieves damaged critical infrastructure. That also meant being cut off from 9-1-1 access for both landline and wireless.
According to Telus, vandals intentionally cut network lines along Highway 16 near Mount Hayes on Sunday afternoon. The damage has left several communities without full phone or internet access, from Fraser Lake to Terrace, as well as Smithers, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Haida Gwaii, and Bella Bella.
“On Sunday afternoon, thieves intentionally cut Telus cables in the Mount Hayes area along Highway 16, causing significant damage to our fibre lines and disrupting home phone, internet, TV and cell phone services for customers in many Northern B.C. communities,” Telus said in a statement to CBC News.
Repair teams are currently on site working to fix the severe line damage, but Telus has not provided a timeline for when full service will be back up and running.
But as of 1am PT on Monday, Telus said the outage was fixed.
Here’s a picture of cut cables in Fraser Lake shared by Telus, with the outage confirmed as of 1pm on Sunday:
“Telus crews quickly arrived at the site of the vandalism and have begun working to restore all services to our customers. Due to the extent of the damage caused, we do not have an estimated time of restoration,” the company stated.
In the meantime, emergency roaming has been enabled through partner networks. This allows mobile users to make basic phone calls, send text messages, and reach 911 emergency services, provided their phone settings are set to automatically select available networks. The RCMP is currently investigating the incident alongside company officials.
Rising global demand for recycled metals like copper has fuelled a surge in telecom vandalism across Canada. Telus isn’t alone, as just last week Bell said at the mid-year mark, it has seen 993 copper thefts, a rise of 78% compared to last year.
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