Copper, a precious metal? At the current price, its price is trading around 7.6 euros per kilo, an increase of more than 33% in five years according to a specialized site. A surge in prices that arouses desire. Not a week goes by without a regional daily mentioning a theft of “red gold”.
Along with SNCF, Orange is particularly concerned by the phenomenon. Asked by France 3Nicolas Brochot, Orange regional delegate in Occitanie, mentions 1,600 cable thefts on the operator’s infrastructures throughout France in 2023. “That’s 1,200 kilometers of stolen cables and several million euros in damage. » Occitanie is among the most affected regions with nearly 200 thefts reported last year.
For the manager of the historic operator, cutting and then transporting tons of cable requires significant organization and the use of heavy goods vehicles. The response from law enforcement is in tune. The raid carried out at the beginning of January in the jurisdiction of Cahors mobilized 200 gendarmes. Around ten people were arrested for damage estimated between 200,000 and 400,000 euros.
Service interruption
All regions are affected. An investigation by the Yonne gendarmes made it possible to incriminate twelve individuals for acts of theft and concealment of copper cables committed between January and November 2023 reports France Bleu Auxerre. Tried in immediate appearance, “the oldest of the three defendants, with an already extensive criminal record, is sentenced to 16 months in prison and will have to repay 125,000 euros to the operator Orange”
The operator mode is often the same, reports the regional media. “ The thieves operate at night, they lift the trapdoors of the telephone network, cut the cables and tow hundreds of meters of them with a vehicle. The cable is then burned, so as to strip it, and resold. »
Orange systematically files complaints and works closely with prefectures and gendarmerie services to stem the phenomenon, indicates France Blue. The losses for the historic operator are not only financial. Its copper network has historically been deployed to pass fixed telephony offers then internet with ADSL for its own account and that of competing operators, Bouygues Telecom, SFR and Free.
Waiting for fiber
Any section of cable leads, in fact, to an interruption of service for individuals and businesses. It can also impact the operation of emergency services such as SAMU, firefighters or the police. Of course, Orange has implemented devices such as video surveillance systems or a mysterious tracking device to combat copper theft.
Network resilience also concerns the burying of cables and the redundancy of infrastructures. The French Telecoms Federation (FFT) is calling for tougher penalties for acts of vandalism on telecommunications infrastructure. Asked by The galleryits president proposes to go from a maximum of two years in prison to a maximum of five years and from a maximum fine of 30,000 euros to 75,000 euros.
The most radical solution involves, of course, the generalization of optical fiber throughout the country. The copper network will, in fact, gradually disappear by 2030 in favor of fiber. During this changeover phase, Orange will dismantle its aging infrastructure. Thousands of kilometers of cables will be laid and must be protected from traffickers.