'Brazen' copper theft behind recent 911 disruptions in Indio, elsewhere in Riverside County

*Frontier employees have become skilled at making rapid repairs following copper theft from their equipment, but the acknowledge that emergency services remain vulnerable during the repair process.*

Brazen thieves are cutting down telephone poles and stealing copper cables in 10-minute operations that have disrupted 911 emergency services in Indio and across Riverside County, a Frontier Communications executive told the Indio City Council Wednesday.

Doug McAllister, Frontier’s vice president of external affairs, said cable theft has become a huge issue and it’s costing the telecommunications company tens of millions of dollars while leaving communities without emergency services during repairs.

“They’re coming through. They’ll cut down the poles, and they’ll take 1,000 feet, 1,500 feet of [cable], and they’re gone,” McAllister said. “They’re in and out in 10 minutes and it’s hard to catch them.”

Copper was already expensive and McAllister said it’s only going to get worse once the effects of recent 50% tariffs on copper take effect.

McAllister said most outages are caused by cable theft, though some result from contractors accidentally cutting lines during construction projects. Frontier equipment failures account for only about 1% of outages according to McAllister.

The executive praised the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department for working closely with Frontier to address the theft problem. He said the company has become skilled at making rapid repairs but acknowledged that emergency services remain vulnerable during the repair process.

Frontier is in the middle of expanding its fiber optic network throughout California, including in Indio where the company plans to add 400 new residential addresses by the end of 2025. The fiber optic cables are less vulnerable to theft than the older copper infrastructure that is being targeted by criminals.