Stopping Copper Theft July 23rd, 2008
Anthony Jones

Copper theft has become a significant problem in the telecommunications industry. The Department of Energy has indicated that copper wire theft alone is a $1 billion problem and growing. Earlier today, I participated in a meeting hosted by the ISRI (Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries) to discuss the broader issue of materials theft. A small group of representatives from trade associations, law enforcement, the scrap industry, utilities/infrastructure, and retail came together to get a sense of the scope of the issue; materials theft affects a number of industries in addition to telecom, and the participants at today’s meeting—ranging from the Beer Institute to the National Homebuilders Association—reflected that diversity. The meeting was also attended by government and law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice and the National Sheriffs’ Association.

The goal of today’s discussion was to share information on how stakeholders are addressing material theft with the long-term objective of identifying ways that we all can work together to increase the effectiveness of prevention efforts. As this effort gets underway, USTelecom will be sure to keep you posted on developments.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at 7:50 am and is filed under Industry News, Meetings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.