copper theft
- Copper thieves cut NBN fibre at Bridgewater bridge, leaving Hobart's north offline
An NBN outage that began around midday on Friday 6 November 2026 hit about 1,350 customers around Brighton and Old Beach after suspected copper thieves damaged cabling on the Bridgewater–Gagebrook bridge. NBN expected full restoration between 6pm and 8pm on Saturday 7 November.
- Copper thieves cutting Auckland fibre, leaving about 10,000 people offline in one outage
New Zealand police say attempts to steal disused copper cable are damaging live fibre lines in Auckland. One recent outage in Swanson and Massey affected an estimated 10,000 people.