Vandalism In Arizona Shuts Down Internet and Phone Service

schwit1 sends news that vandalism on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona knocked out internet and telephone service for hours across much of the state's northern region. ATMs, credit card functionality, and emergency services were all affected. Officers are trying to determine who cut through a pipe containing a fiber-optic cable on the outskirts of the city, leading to the outage on Wednesday, which hit northern Phoenix and large parts of the north of Arizona. ... The four-inch-thick pipe, which carries a CenturyLink cable, was found sliced through in an area where it is exposed to the elements as it crosses a desert wash about a quarter of a mile from a residential area, Holmes said. Police said the investigation is in its early stages, but that the pipe may have been vandalized by thieves looking to steal metal.

Comments

Single point of failure

[wvmarle]

So all those important communication lines went trough a single pipe, with no backup, and that pipe was fully exposed to boot? That's just asking for trouble.

Re:Noooo, not the life link

[Bengie]

Shouldn't an ISP have at least 2 and preferably 3 or more separate trunk links?