Wellesley and Wilmot residents without service for two days after phone and internet lines vandalised in Wilmot

Residents in the Village of Wellesley and neighbouring Wilmot Township were without phone and internet services for two days earlier this month after a Bell box was vandalized at Lisbon Road and Nafziger Road in Wilmot Township, just south of the Village of Wellesley, overnight Jan. 8-9. Gary West photo

Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Residents near the border between Wilmot and Wellesley townships were without phone and internet services earlier this month following the vandalism of local phone and internet lines.

According to a spokesperson with the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS), police received a report of property damage to a Bell box at Lisbon Road and Nafziger Road in Wilmot Township, just south of the Village of Wellesley, on the morning of Jan. 9. Police said they did not the know the total value of the damage and they did not have any suspects as of Jan. 13. Bell was advised of the damage.

According to a spokesperson from Bell, some customers in the Wellesley area experienced a service interruption Jan. 9 when Bell’s network infrastructure was extensively damaged due to a copper-theft incident. The spokesperson said most of the repairs were completed by the evening of Jan. 11, with all services restored by Jan. 12.

“We ask anyone who witnesses suspicious activity in the vicinity of telecom infrastructure to contact local law enforcement,” the spokesperson said. “Copper theft continues to be on the rise with vandals stealing copper to sell on the black market for cash. Bell has experienced more than 1,600 security incidents to its network since January 2022, with copper theft accounting for 87 per cent of physical incidents on Bell’s network.”

Area residents who spoke with the Gazette said Bell worked diligently to fix the problem, though extended phone and internet outages become a real problem when older people do not have a cell phone and are not able to call 911 if needed in an emergency situation.

The Bell repairman who were working on the situation told the Gazette the culprits often put up flares and red traffic cones, and wear reflective clothing so passersby think they are just working on the lines when, in fact, they are stealing the copper from the Bell boxes.

Anyone who may have seen anything in the area prior to the internet and phone outages last week or anyone who knows anything about this incident is encouraged to call WRPS at 519-570-9777.

With files from Gary West