Internet, phone service restored for Calgarians after attempted wire theft

Some residents of north and northeast Calgary woke up without internet, phone and other Rogers services Monday, due to what the company says was vandalism and an attempted copper wire theft.

The problem was discovered just before 4:30 a.m., according to the company’s support webpage.

Crews eventually determined the outage was caused by a fibre that had been cut in an act of vandalism, suspecting thieves were trying to steal copper wire.

Rogers says fixing a damaged fibre line can typically take between eight and 12 hours, once technicians are able to safely begin their work. Updates posted to the company’s website indicated crews started working on the damage just before 11 a.m.

Around 5 p.m., the company said restoration efforts were ongoing and services were starting to return for some customers. Full restoration was expected to be completed by 10 p.m.

Rogers says service was restored for all customers in the affected area shortly before 11:30 p.m.

“Some customers in parts of north Calgary may be experiencing an interruption to their internet, TV and home phone services due to a fibre cut caused by vandalism and attempted theft of copper wire,” reads a statement from the company. “Multiple technical teams are on-site and working to restore services as soon as possible.”

Rogers tells CityNews that vandalism outages are increasing year over year at a rapid pace, and the company has experienced a more than four times increase in outages due to vandalism since 2022.

The company says outages due to vandalism often take longer to repair than other outage types due to the extent of damage and associated repairs.

Customers are encouraged to check their account via the website or app for the latest on outages in their area.

Rogers is the parent company of CityNews.