Unidentified vandals in France have cut communication lines running in and out of Paris, reports Data Center Dynamics. Fiber optic cables linking the capitol city to Lyon, Strasbourg, and Lille all suffered damage that officials have determined was deliberate.
“It’s not the usual localized cut due to a blow from an excavator from the site next door. The cables were cut on both sides in order to complicate the repairs,” an operator told Le Parisien. “The urgency is to re-solder everything, this represents tens of thousands of small fiber optic cables.”
While little is known about the perpetrators at this time, there is speculation that it is part of a global attack against the telecommunications industry. Cell towers and cables in places including the United States and South Africa have been burned or destroyed, leading some to suspect an online-fueled conspiracy aimed at disrupting communications.
According to a report issued by the Department of Homeland Security in 2020, “Violent extremists have drawn from misinformation campaigns online that claim wireless infrastructure is deleterious to human health and helps spread COVID-19, resulting in a global effort by like-minded individuals to share operational guidance and justification for conducting attacks against 5G infrastructure, some of which have already prompted arson and physical attacks against cell towers in several U.S. states.”
The sabotage of the fiber optic cables in France comes on the heels of a recent incident in the United Kingdom where cell towers in the Openreach network were set on fire, knocking out communications throughout the region. Around the same time, unidentified persons in Mullumbimby, Australia set fire to a Telstra cell tower. Talk amongst locals indicates that some people became convinced that the cell towers were hurting bees, babies, and birds, notes Data Center Dynamics.
“Internet cables have been cut in the Ile-de-France region, which is affecting the landline and mobile network. We are in touch with operators who are working to restore service,” said the French Minister for Digital Affairs, via Twitter.
A representative from French telecommunications company, SFR, agreed saying that “SFR’s technical teams are fully mobilized,” and repairs are underway.
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