No bandwidth? Beavers to blame for Canadian communications outage

Vancouver, Canada - In a small town in western Canada, beavers are said to have caused a 36-hour outage of internet, television, and cellular service.

In Canada, beavers caused a 36-hour internet outage by using the fiber optic cable to build their dam (stock image).
In Canada, beavers caused a 36-hour internet outage by using the fiber optic cable to build their dam (stock image).  © 123rf.com/Tatiana Thomson

A family of beavers was to blame for major communications outages in a small Canadian town. Telecommunications company Telus shared that the large rodents had nibbled on an important fiber-optic cable in several places during the construction of their dam.

Around 900 customers in the town of Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia were affected by the animals' efforts.

According to the report, technicians found on April 24 that the beavers had dug their way alongside a nearby creek to the cable, which runs at a depth of about three feet. They then chewed through a nearly five-inch-thick casing.

Blind dog down on his luck finds well-deserved happy ending
Dogs Blind dog down on his luck finds well-deserved happy ending

"This was a bizarre and uniquely Canadian twist," state broadcaster CBC quoted a company spokesperson as saying.

As the technicians surveyed the area, they realized that the beavers had dug up underground fiber marking tape and used it on top of their home.

Despite freezing temperatures, technicians were able to repair the damage by Sunday afternoon.

Tumbler Ridge is located near the Canadian Rocky Mountains and has a total population of about 2,000.

Cover photo: 123rf.com/Tatiana Thomson

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