Foothills Communications experiencing fiber optic damage due to thefts in area

Foothills Communications in Staffordsville posted on their Facebook page, Wednesday, July 9, that they were experiencing another service outage due to an attempted copper theft, which makes the 17th time this has happened this year. “This outage is affecting approximately 70 subscribers in the Lowmansville area, and also has two cell sites offline. If you have any information about who is responsible, please contact us immediately at 606-297-3501, or call local law enforcement. We have crews enroute to repair the damaged lines, and hope to have services restored as quickly as possible.  Thank you for your patience.”

Later that day, they updated the post that said service in the area had been restored.

Another post was made on Saturday, July 12, stating that they currently have an outage due to possible fiber theft in the Webbville service area. Crews are currently enroute to resolve the issue. This affects approximately 69 customers. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Once again, if you know who is responsible, please contact us at 606-297-3501 or call local law enforcement.  

All service was restored by 3 p.m., the same day.

Did you know that Fiber optic cable is often damaged by attempted copper theft. This is the same fiber that delivers your Foothills Internet, Phone, and TV service. 18 outages this year alone were caused by copper theft. Repairs are extensive and expensive, impacting everyone.

It’s not just about streaming or entertainment.  Our customers rely on Foothills for: emergency communications (911, WiFi calling); medical device monitoring; business operations & credit card machines; and remote work & remote learning

When fiber is cut, these vital services are put at risk — and sometimes even local cell towers lose service, because their backhaul is provided by Foothills fiber.

Foothills and our contractors do NOT sell copper telephone cable locally.

If you see someone selling copper derived from telephone cable, it may be stolen. Legitimate sellers should have documentation proving they’re contractors or employees for a communications company.

It’s also the law — Under Senate Bill 64, signed on 3/19/25, damaging or tampering with cable television, telephone, or broadband lines — now legally defined as “Key Infrastructure Assets” — is a Class D felony if it renders service inoperable.

If you see someone cutting or damaging cable in areas served by Foothills, call us immediately at 606-297-3501 or contact local law enforcement. Let’s keep our community connected and protected.