AT&T old telecom copper network has been around for decades so it’s not news to hear that copper wire lines are still very big part of the network. Whats new is that some telecoms are reclaiming this vital metal and recycling it as they are placing newer fiber network in its place. it has been a lucrative business given the spot price of copper today ($5.61 a pound). What has increased is the theft of the copper cables nationwide.
According to AT&T, the threat has become so severe that the company logged over 10,000 cases of copper theft last year.
AT&T’s security investigator, Rahdeese Alcutt, recently sounded the alarm about the problem, which can disrupt the carrier’s telecommunication networks, especially its old-school landlines. “As a company, AT&T experienced more than 10,400 copper theft incidents, with a weekly average of 200 incidents reported nationwide at the end of 2025. Losses for 2025 exceeded $82 million.”
The problem is particularly bad in California, where AT&T has been required to maintain its traditional copper-based landlines to ensure residents living in rural and remote areas remain connected. “In California alone, we experienced more than 7,300 copper theft incidents in 2025, with losses exceeding $54 million,”
The problem has become “systemic” to the point that AT&T is struggling to keep up. “We can’t repair damage as fast as it happens,” he says. “Some damage goes undetected for weeks or months.
“Many of these instances of copper theft do not appear to be one-off, opportunistic acts. We are seeing clear evidence of organized crime, such as the use of heavy machinery and coordinated thefts on the same lines at the same time,”