Vandals Cut 2,000 Fiber Optic Cables in Connecticut, Knocking 16,000 Offline

"Connecticut police have charged two people with cutting more than 2,000 fiber optic cables" on March 24, reports the Associated Press - leaving more than 15,000 people without internet access.Norwalk police said they arrested Asheville, North Carolina, residents Jillian Persons and Austin Geddings on Saturday during a surveillance operation. Both were charged with larceny and criminal mischief crimes, as well as interfering with police. Persons also was accused of giving a false statement to police. Both were detained on $200,000 bail....The outages caused by the cable cutting have since been restored, according to Optimum's website. The Stamford Advocate investigated how many people were affected:Norwalk Deputy Police Chief Terry Blake said Sunday more than 40,000 customers in the area were left without internet service as a result of the vandalism. However, an Optimum spokesperson claimed at the time the outages only affected roughly 16,000 customers and the inflated numbers were inaccurate because of an issue with the company's online outage map.

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