Gunshots damage internet service
Posted/updated on: January 8, 2026 at 2:59 am
TYLER – Around 10,000 Optimum internet service customers are eligible for compensation after losing service over the weekend when two aerial fiber cables were shot, according to our news partner KETK. According to Optimum, two aerial fiber lines were hit by bullets, which severed the fiber strands within. A company representative said that repairing these lines is a delicate, time-consuming task, requiring technicians to line up hundreds of tiny hair-sized fibers to join them so light and data can flow through.
Optimum’s payment, billing and service policy allows customers to call within 30 days of a 4+ hour long outage to receive a credit for their lost service.
The Smith County Sheriff’s Office has been contacted to investigate the shooting that left the two aerial fiber lines damaged, according to Optimum.
