Vandalism Causes Fiber Outage in Benton and Tippah Counties

Ripley, Miss. – A fiber outage disrupted internet service for TEPA Connect customers Thursday afternoon after fiber lines were damaged by gunfire.

The outage, reported around 3 p.m. on August 22, affected areas near Highway 5 in Benton County and County Road 800 in Tippah County. TEPA crews quickly located the damage and worked on-site to restore service.

Officials say the outage was caused by someone shooting at the fiber lines, which they emphasized is both illegal and costly.

“Please remember, shooting our fiber causes expensive repairs, creates service outages for our customers, and is considered vandalism,” TEPA Connect stated.

Service restoration efforts were ongoing as of Thursday evening.