COPPER AND ROBBERS

Copper theft is becoming epidemic. Embarq last month began offering a $5000 reward for information leading to the prosecution of copper cable thieves. Time Warner Cable is offering twice that for information about a pair of incidents in Dallas this summer that disrupted voice and video service to more than 50,000 customers. Verizon claims to have lost 26,000 feet of copper to thieves last year. AT&T has reported its share of complaints as well. Who knew copper was so valuable? When I see a penny, I don't pick it up.

There's long been a big black market for copper because it's so widely used and recyclable. Crooks have pilfered everything from copper plumbing to power lines — some with fatal consequences. But the price of copper has spiked in the past two years, sometimes approaching $3.75 a pound, as demand for it mushroomed in rapidly industrializing nations like China. (That price still makes it slightly less valuable than sliced ham, but probably easier to sell used.) When caught red-handed (literally), copper thieves always say the same thing: “I wasn't stealing it, I was unbundling it! Competition is good for the market!”

A $5000 reward isn't steep for Embarq, considering the carrier has already spent nearly half a million bucks this year repairing severed cable in its biggest market, Las Vegas, where it offered the reward. Twice last month, a pair of thieves broke into the Kansas City, Mo., headquarters of the company's equipment distribution arm, Embarq Logistics, and cut the copper away from giant spools. (The men were arrested and, because they were seen so hurriedly cutting and unspooling the copper, later hired as technicians.)

Copper will become even more precious to Embarq as the carrier investigates new ways to offer IPTV using DSL. For Verizon, however, copper theft could have an upside. As the carrier deploys more fiber, competitors have accused it of unfairly removing copper lines to avoid having to resell it to rivals. Union leaders also have accused the company of neglecting to maintain its existing copper plant, which includes some of the oldest installed copper in the country. If only Verizon could direct these crooks to the right places, could a win-win deal be attained?