By Karmen Rajamani, Vice President, Government Affairs, Wireless Infrastructure Association
Between June 2024 and June 2025, more than 15,000 incidents of theft and vandalism struck U.S. telecommunications networks, disrupting service for over 9.5 million customers. Nearly two-thirds of those attacks occurred in just the first half of 2025 across America’s communications companies, a clear signal that the threat to communications infrastructure is on the rise.
These findings, released at the third Critical Communications Infrastructure Summit on October 7th in El Segundo, CA, come from an updated report on theft and vandalism and a new economic analysis. Together, they reveal that damages to our communications networks are multiplying and are inflicting real costs.
Costs for Consumers and Communities
For the wireless industry, these are not abstract numbers. Even following industry best practices, every trespass into a locked tower compound, stolen antenna, and cabinet break-in represents a lost connection for a customer. The incident data shows criminals are no longer just stripping copper; they are damaging fiber lines, often with no resale value, leaving large sections of networks disabled.
The real cost of these crimes is not limited to the metal stolen or the equipment replaced – it is in the economic ripple effects that follow, as the new economic analysis shows. In the last six months of 2024, outages from vandalism and theft imposed $38 million to $188 million in societal costs, borne largely by consumers. In California alone, that figure reached $29.3 million.
Call to Action
This challenge brought together leading industry associations. On behalf of WIA, I joined my colleagues at CTIA, NCTA, USTelecom, and ACA Connects – along with major providers like AT&T, Verizon and Google – to coordinate action and strengthen protections to communications infrastructure across public and private sectors.
Progress is underway. In 2025 alone, 23 states considered new laws to combat infrastructure vandalism, and 13 enacted them, including Kentucky, Texas, and Minnesota, which expanded felony classifications for such crimes. Nationwide, 28 states now classify communications infrastructure theft or vandalism as a felony. At the federal level, the Stopping the Theft and Destruction of Broadband Act of 2025 (H.R. 2784) proposes to criminalize vandalism on privately owned communications networks.
What Comes Next
The message from the Summit was unmistakable: telecommunications networks are central to our modern economy and protecting communications infrastructure is essential. As these reports make clear, these challenges require synchronized action and sustained partnership between industry, policymakers, and law enforcement. We look forward to continuing to drive awareness and collaboration on this issue together with our communication industry partners.
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