MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Residents in the Boxtown area have been without internet for weeks because someone stole copper wire, neighbors told WREG.
Eric Glasper said he and his neighbors went weeks without television, phones or any way to get work done without internet access.
“We don’t have internet here, and when your internet goes out, you know how things are set up, you almost die in the house,” Glasper said. “They told us it would take a few days, but it turned out A week. Then they finally came and turned it on for about a day and it went out again,”
MPD confirms it has received six reports of copper theft from AT&T poles in the area. According to an incident report filed by MPD, three AT&T employees told police that more than $18,000 worth of copper was stolen.
“One day we saw them working there,” Glasper said. “We stopped and one of the guys told us someone had been stealing it. They were stealing the copper off the line. They didn’t climb up the pole to get it. They put it on the ground and that’s how they got it.”
On Field Road, there were yards of wires lining the sidewalk.
Neighbors say their internet is now up, but they believe it’s only a matter of time before it goes out again.
“When they put it on the ground like this, it’s an open invitation,” Glasper said.
We reached out to AT&T and they responded Wednesday:
“We have restored service to customers affected by the recent copper theft incident and installed all new cables. We thank our customers for their patience while we clean up the remaining temporary cables.”