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Dove Hunters Blast Away, Knocking Out Insight Subs
Resilient fiber optic plant can withstand hurricane-force winds, water and floods - but still fall victim to the whims of trigger-happy hunters.
Insight Communications lost service to customers in Gibson and Dubois counties in Indiana on Labor Day due to careless (or perhaps, carefree) hunters.
On the first day of dove hunting season, shooters took aim at their prey as they sat atop Insight's fiber-optic strands. They let loose on the birds, severing the strands.
The party was caught in the act by Insight employee Jeff Minnis, who told the the Princeton (Ind.) Daily Clarion the resulting repair took the company much longer than expected because the hunting party decided to shoot at birds on the wire in more than one place. Minnis called police and the hunters were arrested.
The outage lasted more than 24 hours, according to Insight.
On his blog (Michaelsinsight.com ), Insight CEO Michael Willner said of the incident, "We believe we have the guilty parties and have filed damage charges against them for their totally irresponsible behavior. But I especially want to thank the many Insight people who mobilized...