Updated
Updated · GSMArena.com · Jun 10
AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Join STRIKE After 18,327 Cable Theft Incidents Hit 12 Million People
Updated
Updated · GSMArena.com · Jun 10

AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Join STRIKE After 18,327 Cable Theft Incidents Hit 12 Million People

2 articles · Updated · GSMArena.com · Jun 10

Summary

  • AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon joined the STRIKE initiative as cable theft and vandalism incidents in the US climbed to 18,327, disrupting internet access for nearly 12 million people.
  • The industry group says attacks now average 1,527 a month, or about 50 a day, with the total up 59% since 2024.
  • Copper lines are often stolen for scrap value, while fiber-optic cables are increasingly cut in vandalism that can disrupt hospitals, schools and emergency services.
  • STRIKE — short for Strategic Threat Response & Infrastructure Knowledge Exchange — is meant to help providers coordinate protection efforts as carriers accelerate shifts from aging copper networks to fiber.

Insights

As criminals cripple the internet for copper, are they part of a larger, coordinated attack on the U.S.?
The race to fiber optic cable stops theft, but does it create a new, hidden vulnerability for our critical infrastructure?