Vandalism in Arizona Shut Down Internet, Cellphone, Telephone Service Across State

Incident raises concerns a domestic or international terrorist could tamper with U.S. infrastructure

freebeacon.com...

Cellphone, Internet, and telephone services across half of Arizona went dark on Wednesday after vandals sliced a sensitive fiber optic cable, according to those familiar with the situation. The incident is raising concerns about the safety of U.S. infrastructure.

The outage shut down critical services across large parts of the state, preventing individuals from using their phones, bank and ATM cards, and the Internet. Critical services, such as police and state government databases, as well as banks and hospitals, also were affected as a result of the vandalism.

a reply to: wasaka

This is very interesting.
I understand this information is already out spreading quickly across the web...So....with that said.....

This information should have never come to light. Now any wanna be terrorist or Jihadist will start digging into the grounds and cut out cables.

This stupidity of the media giving out Americas weakness is shameful. Lets slap the cobra and kiss it on the check.

Regards,

Operation "Net Neutered" has been confirmed.



I fear we haven't seen the last of this.

a reply to: wasaka

Looks as if we are all just 1 sensitive fiber optic cable away from horse and buggy...

originally posted by: Ultralight
a reply to: wasaka

Looks as if we are all just 1 sensitive fibreoptic cable away from horse and buggy...

Ahh. Simpler times...

It is weaknesses like this in our communications infrastructure that I advocate having 2-way radios as backup preparedness. Here is a thread I made on using license free frequencies to communicate in a grid down scenario.

ATS Thread on 2-way communications

I have a link to a website posted there that I put up that describes how to prepare for this scenario and set up a network that includes local WiFi. It is very comprehensive and it won't require a Ham operator's license that would make your personal information available by searching a call sign.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

Dad is that you?
My father lives in Michigan and has a little building outside his house where he keeps his Ham radio (at least he use to have it there), he goes out there and messes around with it a lot. It would be funny if it turned out you were him?!

*Update: I just read the post you linked here and WOW if your not my dad you two should really meet - the coincidence is unreal!

originally posted by: SirKonstantin
a reply to: wasaka

This is very interesting.
I understand this information is already out spreading quickly across the web...So....with that said.....

This information should have never come to light. Now any wanna be terrorist or Jihadist will start digging into the grounds and cut out cables.

This stupidity of the media giving out Americas weakness is shameful. Lets slap the cobra and kiss it on the check.

Regards,

MSM has been exposing the vulnerability and possibilities for terrorists or mother nature to damage basic necessities such as water, infrastructure and electricity for years. The only surprise here is that it hasn't happened sooner. Why the US opts to spend millions on research instead of actually doing something about it is the big question. I do believe now that this vandalism has happened, more laws will be passed to *ahem* prevent it from happening again and more tax dollars wasted on pseudo prevention systems which do absolutely nothing while we remain as vulnerable tomorrow as we are today.

Now, do you have your food preps, rocket stove and water ready?

originally posted by: Staroth
a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

Dad is that you?
My father lives in Michigan and has a little building outside his house where he keeps his Ham radio (at least he use to have it there), he goes out there and messes around with it a lot. It would be funny if it turned out you were him?!

*Update: I just read the post you linked here and WOW if your not my dad you two should really meet - the coincidence is unreal!

You put a smile on my face Staroth, thanks for that.

I'm in west Michigan and if I was a Ham, I could probably use the repeaters to talk with him, but even though I have thought about a license, I don't like the F.C.C. making the call signs public. Also, it is an exclusive club and that doesn't really work well with an open source 2-way network. From what I've listened to on VHF and UHF, the Ham conversations are sparse and boring compared to CB for the most part.

I must content myself with talking to the truck drivers on the nearest interstate and some of the locals on CB. But the radio bug I contracted came from my father, as did some of my other interests. It fascinates me that so much information, music and conversations are all around us, but unseen and unheard unless you put out your antenna and pick it up on a radio. Hell, I even like listening to AM broadcast radio occasionally.

Thanks for the reply, I hope you have a good relationship with good ole dad, mine is in Florida and he never calls, not even on my birthday, I have to make the effort and I do so once in a while.

This is what happens when get an entire generation of kids looking for opportunities that their parents had but they can't find and everyone just tells them to work harder.

I would say, expect more of this in the future.

Thought I'd add an observation on the changing times brought about by the current communications tech. Where ever I go, everyone is absorbed by their phones or tablets. When I'm in a waiting room, your lucky if there are magazines, but there sure is WiFi, and most everyone is staring into a tiny screen, mostly Facebook I'd imagine. It reminds me of the Star Trek, The Next Generation episode where the crew gets addicted to a game that is giving them little orgasms and brain washing them with alien mind control.

There might be one or two older folks reading a magazine, but at least I can catch up with Time, or National Geographic, or what have you, because most all the reading material is available, if they have any that is.

I was into tech for a long time, but lately I've been reactionary, even rejecting my cell phone, which I consider a phone, and not an internet connection for texting or taking video or pictures or figuring out where the hell I am. It's like a ball and chain, esp. when you just want to be left alone with no one knowing where you are or what you're doing all the time.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

My dad is in Au Gres, Michigan population about 899. We have a good relationship, I just read your post and thought...wow my dad is on ATS! haha
Take care and stay warm!

Just wanted to chime in because I happened to be travelling through Flagstaff on Wednesday during the outage, and yes the article is accurate about how the area basically shutdown.
I read also that the cable was near a riverbed not accessible to vehicles, and I'm wondering how accessible information such as cable locations are to the general public. I'm also wondering if the vulnerability's the same in other areas, could the same thing happen to a larger populated area, and what if this was just a test run that's part of a bigger plan?

a reply to: cleverhans

On the side of the road in my state there are orange signs that say Buried Fiber Optic Cable, call before digging, etc. I was told that they watch all of those with satellites that are in geosynchronous orbit. If its true that they watch all of them from space, the perpetrators will be captured. It's just a matter of time. With that said, they should have a system built into the satellites that alerts the Feds if anyone is digging nearby or attempting to tamper with them. I am kind of surprised that they don't have a system to monitor them more closely by now.

Another consideration is having cash on hand for these grid down scenarios in addition to two-way radios.

"No one's phones work, their internet's down, none of our computers work, ATMs are down," said a bartender at the Whiskey Row Pub, where transactions were being conducted in cash-only. Kate Hance and Jessie Hutchison stopped at a Wells Fargo ATM to get cash because an ice cream shop couldn't take credit cards without a data connection. They left empty-handed because the outage also put cash machines out of service.

In Prescott Valley, about 75 miles north of Phoenix, authorities said 911 service was being supplemented with hand-held radios and alternate phone numbers. Water and sewer facilities switched to manual operations, and residents needed cash to make utility and court payments.

a reply to: StoutBroux

I am a dooms day prep-er. Yes, lol.

Its good to understand there are others out there who know we(USA) are cutting ourselves and letting the infection (terrorist) take ahold and spread.

a reply to: wasaka

Cellphone, Internet, and telephone services across half of Arizona went dark on Wednesday after vandals sliced a sensitive fiber optic cable, according to those familiar with the situation. The incident is raising concerns about the safety of U.S. infrastructure.

Silly people , that was not terrorist attack , that is just Comcast and AT&T doing business as usual.


More seriously, this is more reason to start thinking about mesh networks.