Shropshire broadband cables vandalism threatens ultra-fast service roll-out
Vandals who have been sabotaging broadband by cutting fibre cables in a Shropshire village could delay the roll out of ultra-fast broadband to the community, a telecoms boss has said.
Specialist rural broadband provider Airband said that its cables had been targeted repeatedly in recent weeks – with police investigating the attacks.
They have taken place in the village of Selattyn, near Oswestry, over the past four weeks.
The company said the cables are part of its work to improve broadband speeds in the area and the damage has delayed the possibility of bringing an ultra-fast connection to the wider community.
It also said that the vandalism was costing thousands of pounds in replacement material and working hours to repair the damage.
Last week, police said the estimated cost to repair the cables was then "in the region of £13,000".
Police have said that at this stage there has been no sign of any theft, with it appearing that the damage is pure vandalism.
Airband founder and managing director, Red Peel said: “At Airband we take pride in bringing connectivity to rural areas across the country. Rest assured that our team is working hard to repair the infrastructure which was damaged in this targeted attack.
"We’re disappointed that this vandalism could delay the roll out of ultra-fast broadband to the community.
“Mindless vandalism not only wastes time and resources it can potentially impact countless homes and businesses leaving them without internet connections, a mainstay of modern life."
According to West Mercia Police's Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) for Oswestry, an individual or group of criminals appears to have been going around the local area and cutting cables on telecom poles.
Police are appealing for information over the attacks, with people asked to call 101 and reference incident 00297_I_20112023.
Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org
