South Carolina sheriff: Copper wire theft led to internet outages, $50,000 in losses - WJCL

When your home connection suddenly cuts out, you probably blame a bad router, an unplugged cord, or bad weather. Physical damage to local utility lines is a clear reminder that our internet still relies on vulnerable physical equipment running right through our neighborhoods. When roadside wiring is damaged or taken, entire communities can lose access to work, school, and home security without any warning.

If your connection drops unexpectedly, look at the lights on your modem or router first. A solid red light or a flashing internet status light typically means your gear is working, but the signal from the street has stopped reaching your home. Before you waste time rebooting your devices or changing your Wi-Fi settings, switch your smartphone to mobile data and check your provider's status map. You can also quickly check with nearby neighbors to see if their service went out at the exact same time.

You cannot fix broken infrastructure from inside your house, so verifying a local outage first will save you plenty of time and frustration.