Verizon customers across Southern California experienced service disruptions on Sunday after vandals cut multiple fiber cables, the company said.
The outage affected some mobile and internet customers in the region, prompting complaints from users who reported problems with cell signal, calls, mobile data, and 5G home internet.
According to Verizon, repairs were already underway Sunday afternoon, with the company expecting service to be restored by early evening local time.
“Vandals cut multiple fiber cables causing a service interruption for some mobility and internet customers in Southern California,” Verizon said in a statement shared with local outlets.
The company also warned that network theft and vandalism are not minor property crimes because they can disrupt communications used by families, businesses, first responders, and public safety officials.
Outage tracker Downdetector showed elevated Verizon reports on Sunday, with many users reporting issues tied to mobile phone service. Some reports also involved mobile internet and 5G home internet.
Verizon advised customers to check its network status page for updates specific to their area. The company’s California outage map says disruptions may affect nearby cities, ZIP codes, and counties, depending on the location and scope of the repair work.
The incident adds to growing concern over damage to telecommunications infrastructure in Southern California. Fiber cuts can affect large service areas because the damaged lines carry data between network sites, homes, businesses, and wireless systems.
As of this writing, Verizon has not publicly identified the people responsible for the vandalism. Customers still experiencing issues are being directed to Verizon’s Check Network Status page for the latest local updates.
