Former Federal Communications Commissioner (FCC) Michael O'Rielly has called for tougher punishments for people who steal or attack telecom infrastructure.

O'Rielly, who served as a Commissioner between 2013 to 2020, specifically referred to the damage being caused to physical broadband infrastructure last week in an analysis piece for Free State Foundation.

He noted that although America’s broadband providers, in cooperation with various government agencies, have done well at responding to external threats to infrastructure, the challenge is a continuous cycle.

The vandalism often leads to Internet outages for customers.

"The reality is that there is no shortage of individuals, rogue groups, nation states, and others seeking to cause harm to Internet users, broadband networks, and in some cases, the collective critical communications infrastructure," said O'Rielly.

"Yet, when harmful activity that is just as significant and problematic but involves intentional theft or damage of communications facilities, weak or ineffective federal and state laws let perpetrators escape justice."

O'Rielly adds that the deterrent for such crimes should be stiffer criminal penalties.

"To effectuate this [tougher penalties], clear laws – at both the federal and state levels – that cover all modern critical infrastructure/facilities with increased penalties must be in place. Correspondingly, strong enforcement efforts need to be made more of a priority," he argues.

One of the biggest factors for vandalism against telecom infrastructure is the value of materials such as copper. DCD has covered several stories in the last year alone relating to copper theft.

One such example of this happened last year when suspected copper thieves toppled a 488-foot rod cell tower in Oklahoma, causing an estimated $500,000 in damage.

Indeed, a report by The Financial Times (FT) last month stated that telecom operators could earn tens of billions of dollars over the next 15 years from selling copper recycled from older network cables.

The value of such copper is tipped to rise by 70 percent from 2021 to 2050. This increase isn't going unnoticed, warns O'Rielly.

"Some thieves seem interested particularly in copper lines because the metal currently is desirable and lucrative on the black market, with prices increasing more than 60 percent over the last four years. But many thieves are so technologically illiterate that they often cut fiber optic cables and attack cell sites with the misguided belief of immense copper hauls. In fact, the demand for copper has forced fiber installers to “educate” would-be criminals about the absence of any copper," he says.

O'Rielly suggests that scrap metal dealers need to be held more accountable for their part in perpetuating the market for stolen copper.

"Thieves may think twice if there was nowhere to sell their ill-gotten gains. Accordingly, it would be valuable for policymakers to examine existing laws to ensure there is an effective process for policing the sale and purchase of scrap metal that is vigorously enforced with appropriate penalties," he noted.

"Certain criminal elements in America see the physical broadband infrastructure as an easy and painless way to fast cash. Without governmental action, the pain inflicted by these bad actors and crooks will increase and spread to more markets."