As AT&T faces another battle in its war against copper thieves that are resorting to knock down area utility poles in Fresno County, Calif., the company is doubling the reward, to $10,000, for any tips that result in the arrest and conviction of copper thieves.
Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims told the Fresno Bee that thieves knocking down poles not only poses a problem for emergency 911 communications, but also anyone traveling down the roads at night could crash into the down lines and poles.
Mims added that any thieves whose theft causes death could face federal charges.
John Britton, director of corporate communications at AT&T, said that copper not only severs customer's phone, TV and Internet connections, but costs thousands of dollars in repair costs.
Of course, Fresno County is just one of several markets where AT&T has seen an uptick in copper theft. Last August, the telco reported that Alabama had the highest rate of copper theft, in addition to seeing continued theft in other markets such as the Atlanta Metro and Texas.
For more:
- The Fresno Bee has this article
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