Condren (Aisne), France - Incendiary sabotage of a fibre optic cable, SFR network down

cette semaine

Aisne Nouvelle, February 4, 2011 - Many customers of the mobile phone operator SFR [owned by French group Vivendi and Vodafone] were without network for much of Wednesday. From 11 hours it was impossible to communicate.
At the root of this failure: an act of malice on a fibre optic cable between Condren and Sommette-Eaucourt along the railroad tracks.
"The cable was burned," says Jean-Claude Brier, director of regional relations, SFR. It is not uncommon for individuals to sever the cables hoping to find copper, but this time they set it on fire, it is a first. "
This act deprived network users of the towns of Saint-Quentin, Peronne, Laon, Arras, Amiens-East and part of Compiegne. "We've done the work and everything is back to normal at 17 hours," says Jean-Claude Brier. "It is a very common act of vandalism, but has very important consequences for us. "
Two years ago, San Quentin and the region were deprived of a network due to a similar cause. That time the cut lasted 48 hours.