Re: Vandalism Likely ...

["Patrick W. Gilmore" <patrick () ianai net>]

On Apr 10, 2009, at 2:00 PM, Steven M. Callahan wrote:
> On Fri, Apr 10, 2009 at 1:15 PM, Patrick W. Gilmore  
> <patrick () ianai net>wrote:
>
> > I didn't see a smiley.
> >
> > And I seriously doubt metal recyclers are going 10 feet down into man
> > holes, breaking into locked cabinets, cutting _fiber_optic_ cables  
> > (not
> > copper), and doing it in exactly the right points to cause the most  
> > damage.
> >
> > But what do I know?

> The average copper thief normally isn't intelligent enough to know the
> difference between black PVC clad copper and black PVC clad fiber  
> until they
> cut it.
>
> In this area, thousands of feet of fiber has been stolen along with  
> copper,
> or left at the scene when the thieves realized it was not copper  
> they had
> cut out.
>
> Copper thieves will climb into power substations, risking  
> electrocution, to
> steal copper from power companies.  So why would they not go down 10  
> feet
> into a manhole to get copper?

Because it's too easy to get copper elsewhere.  At least in the SF bay  
area.  Much, much easier places to get much, much more fiber.

If they stole 1000s of feet of fiber, maybe we could say they were dumb.

--
TTFN,
patrick