The National Post reports in its Tuesday edition that BCE's Bell Canada is calling upon the government for enhanced security protocols to address the growing problem of copper theft. The Post's Jamie Casemore writes that Bell Canada has taken measures to protect its communications infrastructure from theft. It recently announced that it has installed aerial alarms to prevent thieves from tampering with its equipment. Copper theft has become a major problem since 2022, with thieves breaking into telecommunications substations and stealing copper cables. Bridgehead Security Consulting's Ross Johnson explains that copper theft is influenced by two factors, the price of copper on the global market and unemployment rates. Bell Canada has reported that it has faced almost 1,000 security incidents aimed at its network since January, 2022. Of these incidents, 87 per cent were caused by copper theft, and they were mostly concentrated in Ontario, New Brunswick and Quebec. Bell is asking provinces to increase regulation surrounding metal recyclers and make it more difficult for copper cable thieves to sell the stolen cables. Bell is asking the federal government to change the way copper theft is charged in the Criminal Code.
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