Service restored after botched copper wire theft triggers Rogers outage for parts of Calgary
Posted Aug 12, 2026 12:05 pm.
Last Updated Aug 12, 2026 3:07 pm.
Crews spent Tuesday working to fully restore service after an attempted copper wire theft knocked out internet, TV and phone connections across several Calgary neighbourhoods.
The outage began just before 3 a.m. Monday and affected parts of the city’s southeast, southwest and downtown.
At SNS Motors, owner and general manager Sal Boughanem says the disruption brought his business to a standstill.
“Today we are backed up to the max because of this disaster,” he said, adding that staff couldn’t process bills of sale or contact customers.
Service returned for the shop around 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
Boughanem says the outage also created security concerns. Although his cameras still detected motion, the loss of Wi‑Fi meant they couldn’t send alerts.
“We had to keep people at night yesterday otherwise we’ll have break-ins,” he said.
Rogers says the incident stemmed from an attempted copper theft, with the thieves targeting fibre lines instead and causing extensive damage. The company is reporting a 400 per cent increase in outage hours linked to vandalism since 2022, part of a growing national trend.
Eric Smith, senior vice-president with the Canadian Telecommunications Association, says criminals often look for isolated spots where telecom lines run along poles.
“If you see people that don’t look like they belong lurking around those areas or climbing them, alert law enforcement,” he said.
Rogers says service was fully restored by 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Rogers is the parent company of CityNews
