Bullet Incident in Texas Shakes Up the Internet

Bullet Strikes Fiber Optic Cable: Thousands in North and Central Texas Experience Internet Outage

The physical infrastructure of the internet proved more fragile than expected when a single bullet left thousands offline in North and Central Texas last week. Sudden outages affected numerous cities, including Dallas, Irving, Plano, Arlington, Austin, and San Antonio, primarily impacting Spectrum customers. The disruption not only knocked out internet services but also affected phone lines and TV services.

Internet Outage Caused by Stray Bullet

A round of gunfire was identified as the culprit behind the outage, affecting approximately 25,000 customers. According to reports, a stray bullet struck a fiber optic cable, causing extensive service disruption. Spectrum swiftly worked to restore services, with several hours passing before normalcy returned for affected users.

Response and Impact on Spectrum Customers

Spectrum announced they had no additional details about how they discovered the bullet or if law enforcement would get involved. The vast geography of Texas, combined with numerous police jurisdictions and prevalent firearms, makes pinpointing a single shooting difficult. In many areas, fiber optic cables are buried underground to avoid such incidents, but exposure on telephone poles leaves them susceptible.

Historical Precedent of Gunfire Impacting Internet Services

Incidents like this are not unprecedented. In 2022, a similar occurrence involved Xfinity’s fiber optic cable in Oakland, California. Gunfire caused nearly 30,000 people to lose internet service, coinciding with the start of a highly anticipated NFL game. Comcast documented previous encounters with gunshot damage, acknowledging such occurrences, although rare, do take place.

As internet infrastructure remains critical, ensuring its protection against unforeseen events such as stray bullets becomes increasingly vital.