They should hurry up and get rid of copper across the network backbone. Then leave it to the last leg, that will reduce the impact on how many are hit when the cable thieves strike.


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Yep, they should dig the copper up themselves and sell it to fund the cable.

They don't own the copper. They also don't own the backbone network. They're providing a service that runs over other people's infrastructure. There's nothing for them to sell, other than their customer's details and related information. Putting in their own national data infrastructure sufficient to handle the load of their customer base would be titanically expensive.

You get what you pay for. The majority of sky customers pay very little for their broadband connection. In fact, that's Sky's pretty much only selling tactic - 'Buy Sky TV, get broadband for pennies'. There's not going to be any investment in the infrastructure when you're operating - or by buying it, endorsing - that business model.

First line of the article says they stole fibre optic cable

Read before comment? What kind of internet heresy are you preaching here?

I know, but if they cleared the network of copper then advertised the fact that they now have a fully fibered backbone it might deter the thieves. It might help if they mark it as fibre as well. The government need to bring in tougher laws for stealing metals and even tougher laws for melting it down. If the rewards are minuscule in comparison to the fines then the rewards will need to be a lot higher to risk it.

You'll never clear copper out of the network, you can't run a regular landline on pure fibre.

I was not thinking of the last leg. Though fibre to the exchanges would be enough. There will still be copper between the exchange and the end user. So any further assaults on the network would be minimal, and it might only impact the residents of a street or block.

Exchanges are fibre between them and the only copper that comes out is purely for households within the last mile (apart from power)

In which case there is bugger all that BT can realistically do other than educated the public that the network is solely fibre. Maybe the thieves will see the adverts.