Deliberate attacks on the communications infrastructure that keeps Americans connected are rising at an alarming pace. When fiber lines are intentionally cut or network equipment is damaged, communities can lose access to essential services in an instant — from internet and phone connectivity to hospitals, schools, and 911 centers.
At this year’s SCTE TechExpo25, NCTA’s Continuum Stage brought together industry leaders, law enforcement, and policy experts to address this escalating threat. Their discussion coincides with new data released at the Telecom Industry Summit, which reveals the widespread and severe nature of these attacks nationwide.
A growing disruption to communities
Panelists detailed how commonplace these incidents now are and how quickly they can destabilize essential services.
According to two newly released NCTA reports, there were 15,540 attacks between June 2024 and June 2025, affecting more than 9.5 million customers across the country.
These attacks are increasingly concentrated in states like California, Texas, and Missouri—but no region is immune. Panelist Jane Rhodes, SVP of Corporate Physical Security for Charter Communications, emphasized how even a brief moment of damage can have an outsized effect:
“A 30-second climb up a pole or three-minute effort can result in 6, 10, 12 hours of restoration if not more.”
Comcast’s VP of Network Maintenance, Mike Spaulding, described the operational fallout, “We have anywhere from a thousand or two customers that can go down at a time, upwards of 100,000 customers that could potentially be impacted by a single incident.”
When vandalism becomes a security threat
While many incidents stem from attempts to steal copper, others appear deliberate and strategically targeted. FBI Supervisory Special Agent Bill Cochrane explained how certain signs point to more serious motives.
“I’ve seen situations where the cuts were in a difficult location that indicated that there was some pre-knowledge of what they were going after. That’s going to raise a suspicion level, and that’s where you need to reach out to the FBI.”
Recent reporting in The Wall Street Journal has documented similar patterns across the country, including intentional cuts that disrupted 911 access, closed schools, and knocked out service to entire neighborhoods.
Industry action and next steps
The panel highlighted the steps now underway to strengthen protections and improve coordination among communications companies and government agencies. Efforts across federal, state, and local levels are focused on reducing these incidents, improving enforcement, and supporting faster restoration when attacks occur.
Key efforts include:
- Updating state laws to modernize definitions, increase penalties, and strengthen enforcement.
- Advancing federal legislation like H.R. 2784 to apply criminal penalties to attacks on privately owned networks.
- Improving data sharing, incident tracking, and training for law enforcement and first responders.
- Pursuing stronger scrap metal regulations to block the resale of stolen materials.
Building on this momentum, the STRIKE (Strategic Threat Response & Infrastructure Knowledge Exchange) initiative — co-led by SCTE and NCTA — is helping align communications companies, public safety agencies, and policymakers around a more coordinated defense.
Watch the full SCTE TechExpo25 panel, “Under Attack: Protecting America’s Communications Networks from Criminal Threats,” below.
