Cable theft interrupts phone access in Vancouver area

The theft of copper cable in British Columbia's Lower Mainland area is causing headaches for telecommunications firm Telus Corp. and its customers as thieves try to cash in on the soaring value of scrap metal.

Last week, for example, hundreds of households in Surrey and Maple Ridge found themselves without access to the phone and internet, a scenario that Telus is attributing to cable theft.

"More and more, thieves are looking to make a quick buck from the rising value of scrap metal,'' said Shawn Hall, a spokesman for Telus.

"It's a problem that plagues the Lower Mainland.''

Hall said crackdowns by police only seem to move the problem elsewhere.

But he added that Telus doing its best to try to stop the problem by consulting with municipalities and pushing for tougher laws governing the sale of copper wire to scrap metal dealers.

"The real cost to our customers is loss of access to 911," Hall said.

On Sunday morning, Telus said service should be restored to about 700 of its customers in Maple Ridge after thieves cut and stole a large section of cable.
  
It's the third time thieves have targeted Telus in the last few days.
  
On Friday, the same kind of theft left 50 Surrey customers without internet and phone service.
  
And on Thursday, 350 households in Maple Ridge were affected by cut cables.