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Providers blame the police for inaction and ask for help from local authorities.
Private network providers in the UK have asked the government for help in protecting against the growing number of physical attacks on fiber-optic infrastructure.
British companies Ogi and Vorboss sent a letter to the country's Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan, calling for a review of the rules that ensure the safety of network equipment.
The reason was the recent wave of attacks on fiber-optic network infrastructure across the country, which, according to victims, poses a growing threat to public services and businesses.
The attacks led to the shutdown of many streets and even entire settlements. At the same time, you will not be able to restore access until all the damage has been repaired. And even then, no one rules out that vandals will not damage the network equipment again.
Under the letter, in addition to the heads of a number of network providers, there is a signature of the chairman of the industry association INCA. The group calls on the Government to consider greater police involvement in this issue and to increase penalties for those who violate network infrastructure.
According to Howard Jones, head of communications at Vorboss, attacks have increased in frequency over the past 18 months. The company provides up to 100 Gbps fiber connectivity for businesses in and around London at a cost of £2,999 (350,000 rubles) per month.
It is clear that large business clients who pay a lot of money for communication are not interested in putting up with constant interruptions. And restoring such access is probably not cheap for providers at all.
Jones said that vandal attacks range from simply cutting fiber-optic cables in underground pipelines to opening manholes of inspection wells, pouring gasoline into them and then setting them on fire. According to him, the motives of the attackers are ordinary vandalism or revenge on a particular provider, and not sabotage by competing operators.
Jones also added that in some cases, the attacks were carried out by former employees out of revenge, as well as 5G Protestants who indiscriminately attack any digital infrastructure, guided by some of their own principles that most people do not understand.
Another network provider, Ogi, which operates primarily in Wales, also suffered an attack on its infrastructure in the Pembroke Dock area in January. The engineers had to practically re-install part of the newly installed 600-meter-long network at several sites in the city.
The letter says that the police response to such incidents should be reviewed, taking into account the severity of the damage and the harm that such attacks can cause. Victims want a more proactive approach, as at the moment law enforcement agencies do not take this problem seriously enough.
"If this was an attack on the stock exchange, the police would have been there in a few minutes," Jones said.
The letter also suggests that deliberate damage to fiber-optic infrastructure should be singled out as a separate crime, different from the usual damage to property. In addition, it is proposed to introduce the threat of long prison terms and corresponding fines as a deterrent for criminals.
Thus, deliberate damage to the fiber-optic infrastructure poses a serious threat to both ISPs themselves and their customers, including the business segment of the country, whose network access can sometimes be critical and can affect many other industries.
The UK government definitely needs to toughen penalties for such crimes, and law enforcement agencies should pay more attention to such incidents and actively bring those responsible to justice.
Private network providers in the UK have asked the government for help in protecting against the growing number of physical attacks on fiber-optic infrastructure.
British companies Ogi and Vorboss sent a letter to the country's Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan, calling for a review of the rules that ensure the safety of network equipment.
The reason was the recent wave of attacks on fiber-optic network infrastructure across the country, which, according to victims, poses a growing threat to public services and businesses.
The attacks led to the shutdown of many streets and even entire settlements. At the same time, you will not be able to restore access until all the damage has been repaired. And even then, no one rules out that vandals will not damage the network equipment again.
Under the letter, in addition to the heads of a number of network providers, there is a signature of the chairman of the industry association INCA. The group calls on the Government to consider greater police involvement in this issue and to increase penalties for those who violate network infrastructure.
According to Howard Jones, head of communications at Vorboss, attacks have increased in frequency over the past 18 months. The company provides up to 100 Gbps fiber connectivity for businesses in and around London at a cost of £2,999 (350,000 rubles) per month.
It is clear that large business clients who pay a lot of money for communication are not interested in putting up with constant interruptions. And restoring such access is probably not cheap for providers at all.
Jones said that vandal attacks range from simply cutting fiber-optic cables in underground pipelines to opening manholes of inspection wells, pouring gasoline into them and then setting them on fire. According to him, the motives of the attackers are ordinary vandalism or revenge on a particular provider, and not sabotage by competing operators.
Jones also added that in some cases, the attacks were carried out by former employees out of revenge, as well as 5G Protestants who indiscriminately attack any digital infrastructure, guided by some of their own principles that most people do not understand.
Another network provider, Ogi, which operates primarily in Wales, also suffered an attack on its infrastructure in the Pembroke Dock area in January. The engineers had to practically re-install part of the newly installed 600-meter-long network at several sites in the city.
The letter says that the police response to such incidents should be reviewed, taking into account the severity of the damage and the harm that such attacks can cause. Victims want a more proactive approach, as at the moment law enforcement agencies do not take this problem seriously enough.
"If this was an attack on the stock exchange, the police would have been there in a few minutes," Jones said.
The letter also suggests that deliberate damage to fiber-optic infrastructure should be singled out as a separate crime, different from the usual damage to property. In addition, it is proposed to introduce the threat of long prison terms and corresponding fines as a deterrent for criminals.
Thus, deliberate damage to the fiber-optic infrastructure poses a serious threat to both ISPs themselves and their customers, including the business segment of the country, whose network access can sometimes be critical and can affect many other industries.
The UK government definitely needs to toughen penalties for such crimes, and law enforcement agencies should pay more attention to such incidents and actively bring those responsible to justice.
