After copper thefts cause internet outage, Fort Worth neighbors lose service again

There's a lot of frustration in a Fort Worth neighborhood where people have no internet, phone and TV service.

The power of the World Wide Web reaches far beyond the office of Gary Ostand's home, with nearly every device enabled with smart technology. So an internet outage is more than just an inconvenience, especially when it drags on and happens twice in one month.

“All of our appliances that talk back and forth, not within the house but outside the house. You know, if we're trying to check our cameras, emails, we can't log in to work. We rely on it quite a bit,” said Ostand.

Back in August, Ostand's neighborhood near Rendon was one of two in Fort Worth that spent about a week without service after AT&T said copper thieves targeted its infrastructure.

Ostend was hopeful that the news of fiber installation in the area would provide better protection. Then, on Wednesday, his service went out again.

“I’m trying to keep a smile going on, but there's a bit of anger because you're sort of helpless,” he said.

An AT&T spokesperson told NBC 5, "We are working as quickly as possible to repair a cable that was cut by [a] third-party and is disrupting service for a small number of people in the Rendon area. We appreciate the patience of our customers as we complete our work and apologize for the inconvenience."

Since the last outage, Ostand said he learned Verizon started providing service in his neighborhood. On Thursday, he signed up. Still eager for fiber, Ostand spent nearly an hour on the phone with AT&T.

“I had a guy come out yesterday and say, ‘We'll try to get it done tonight.’ Then I got a callback. Now, it's going to be tomorrow. Another tech came out and said, ‘We're going to have to get a contractor to bring cable in.’ Then, I got a text from AT&T saying it's going to be five to 10 days,” he said.

For each, Ostand said he gets a small credit, but what he wants most is a clear answer about when service will be restored.

NBC 5 asked AT&T if the fiber upgrade resulted from the recent copper thefts, but a spokesperson simply said it’s about upgrading infrastructure in the Rendon area.