Internet loss due to beaver biting fiber optic cable

 A residential district in Canada suffered a loss of Internet for nearly 36 hours because the fiber optic cable was bitten by a flock of beavers.

According to Gizmodo, the incident happened on the morning of April 24 (local time) in Tumbler Ridge, a residential district located within the northeast of British Columbia (Canada) with a population of about 2,000 people.

Specifically, about 900 Internet users of Telus network operators during this area have had service interruptions for nearly 36 hours, caused by fiber optic cables being bitten by beavers.
The beavers have gnawed through many of our fiber optic cable points, causing widespread problems," said Liz Sauvé, a Telus spokesman. The fiber optic cable was buried about 900 m deep, with an 11.4 cm thick protective tube outside, which had already gnawed off the protective tube before chewing the cable.


Two glasses of internet cap brother 2
Tape wont to mark the cable was discovered above the beaver dam. Photo: Telus.
Not only the web, about 60 customers using Telus' cable TV and mobile network services were also suffering from the cable outage.

After the web was interrupted at 4:24 pm, the matter was fixed at 3:30 pm on April 25 (local time).

Telus said it had been actively working to work out the extent of the damage, adding more equipment and technical staff to repair the cable, because the bottom above was partially frozen.

The beavers are said to possess bitten the cable to urge dam-building materials. Pictures on the web show the tape wont to mark the cable (usually buried within the ground) lying on top of a dam built by beavers.

"This may be a rare disruption in Canada," a Telus representative said, and apologized to users for the incident.