At RuralRISE, we champion rural America while working to ensure rural communities are fully connected, competitive, and resilient. Reliable broadband is no longer optional; it underpins public safety, economic participation, healthcare, education, and daily life.
In rural America, connectivity isn’t just a convenience; it’s core infrastructure. Broadband and communications networks underpin emergency response, healthcare access, education, local economies, and everyday life.
Yet most policy and investment conversations stop at maps, funding totals, or outage counts, missing the lived reality across rural places where there is often no backup when connectivity fails.
When a Wire Is Cut, a Community Is Cut Off
In urban areas, redundant networks and multiple providers can cushion the impact of outages. Rural communities rarely have that cushion.
Most go through their daily life not thinking about the infrastructure that supports them 24 hours a day, and it may surprise many to learn that the rural communications infrastructure they rely on is under attack with intentional theft and vandalism incidents accelerating year over year. Between mid-2024 and mid-2025, more than 15,540 intentional attacks on communications networks were reported across the U.S., disrupting services that support emergency systems, hospitals, schools, and businesses.
The economic impacts go far beyond the scrap value of damaged equipment. A 2025 economic analysis estimated that outages tied to theft and vandalism imposed up to $188 million in societal costs in just the latter half of 2024; costs that reflect the lost value of disconnected people and businesses.
In July 2025, a single cut fiber-optic cable in Central Florida knocked out 911 voice service in Marion, Lake, and Osceola counties for more than eight hours, leaving rural residents unable to reach emergency dispatch by phone. Although text-to-911 remained functional, first responders scrambled to handle urgent emergencies with the voice lines being down, and this outage revealed how fragile connectivity can quickly become a public-safety issue when key infrastructure is severed.
For rural communities with limited providers and fewer alternative options, these incidents can stretch for days, not just minutes or hours.
Why This Is Especially Devastating in Rural America
In some rural areas, these systems are the only available option.
Many rural networks operate on a single route with no secondary path or provider. If that one line is cut, there is no automatic failover and often no rapid repair available, especially in rugged or hard-to-reach terrain.
Seniors and Essential Communication:
Research from AARP shows that older adults are far more likely to rely on landlines as their primary or sole phone service. When those lines fail, seniors lose access to emergency services, healthcare coordination, and family communication, with little to no immediate alternative.
Remote Work and Education:
Analysis from the FCC and Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirms that broadband outages in rural communities do more than inconvenience workers and students; they frequently halt participation altogether. In these conditions, outages compound quickly, translating directly into lost wages and diminished educational outcomes.
Healthcare and Telehealth:
The FCC and federal health agencies have repeatedly documented that telehealth is foundational to rural healthcare delivery, particularly in areas with limited hospital capacity and provider availability. When broadband fails, appointments are canceled, remote monitoring is interrupted, and patients must travel long distances or forgo care altogether.
What’s Driving Infrastructure Theft and Damage?
Many attacks are driven by a misperception about value.
With many providers transitioning to fiber and wireless solutions, individuals seeking high-value copper-based infrastructure will cut through the newer fiber-optic cables that are almost entirely made of glass and plastic. They often walk away with nothing of resale value, but the damage can leave thousands of customers offline and critical services inaccessible.
Who Is Working on Solutions?
A growing coalition of industry leaders, policymakers, and technology innovators is responding.
National Coalitions:
Organizations including NCTA, USTelecom, CTIA, and the Wireless Infrastructure Association are researching the public-safety and economic impacts of infrastructure theft to inform policy and legislative action. Through ProtectCCI.org, leading communications trade associations are uniting to document the real-world impacts of infrastructure theft and drive coordinated policy responses.
Federal Legislative Leadership:
Representatives Laurel Lee and Marc Veasey have introduced H.R. 2784 — the Stopping the Theft and Destruction of Broadband Act of 2025 — to establish federal penalties for attacks on private communications networks.
Technology Innovators:
Galooli deploys battery GPS trackers and vibration sensors that enable immediate theft detection and asset recovery. And Asentria provides site-automation tools, including IP cameras that send real-time alerts when unauthorized access occurs.
But solutions aren’t just coming from national and federal organizations.
What Can You Do? A Rural Call to Action
Whether you lead a rural nonprofit or live in a rural community, you are the front line of defense. Here are actions you can take in your local area:
For Rural Organizations & Nonprofits
- Advocate for state recognition of communications networks as critical infrastructure and enhance penalties for damaging them.
- Support increased funding for local efforts such as metal theft task forces.
- Partner with law enforcement to identify vulnerabilities, communicate economic impacts, and support public-awareness efforts.
For Community Members
- Watch for burnt copper, a common sign of infrastructure theft. (Piles of burned wire or scorched plastic can indicate stolen communications cables).
- Verify contractors working near telecommunications lines through marked vehicles and credentials.
- Report suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities—do not intervene directly.
Why RuralRISE Cares
RuralRISE exists to ensure that decisions about rural connectivity are informed by rural reality.
We work at the intersection of research, real-world impact, and rural voice. We help decision makers and infrastructure providers understand what connectivity failure truly means in places where:
- There is no second provider
- There is no cellular backup
- There is no quick fix
- There is no substitute for connectivity
When a rural connection fails, people are not merely inconvenienced—they can be completely cut off.
That is why infrastructure theft, vandalism, and neglect must be treated as public awareness and public safety issues, not isolated or minor crimes. The data clearly shows these incidents are increasing and their impacts are real.
In rural America, connectivity is foundational infrastructure, and protecting it is essential to public safety, economic participation, healthcare access, and community resilience.
The Bottom Line
Think of rural communications infrastructure like a communal bridge. A thief may want only a few feet of metal cable, but removing that cable makes the bridge unsafe for everyone. Protecting the cables protects the whole community.
Protecting connectivity in rural America isn’t optional. It’s infrastructure stewardship; essential to safety, economic stability, and community well-being.