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The destruction that vandals caused when they cut a fiber-optic cable in the Arizona desert last month, has exposed a glaring vulnerability in the nation's Internet infrastructure. It became clear that there are no backup systems in many places.
The problem most Internet subscribers faced when the network cable was down, has brought to the fore America’s vulnerability. Experts say the Internet service regulation is too loose and decisions about network reliability are left to service providers.
They say the Internet service providers refuse to build backup recovery routes, unless they have something beneficial to gain from it.
Sean Donelan, a former infrastructure security manager in the U.S. Homeland Security Department says "If someone manages to cut that fiber, you'll generally see a one- or two- or three-day outage."
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He also expressed his regrets that the government has done nothing to ensure that the Internet service providers have backup systems, even as it has provided billions of dollars in subsidies to expand broadband Internet into unserved areas.
Sources say they were disappointed when Internet subscribers in some residents of Washington state's San Juan Islands were without Internet and telephone service for 10 days, when an underwater fiber-optic cable became wrapped around a big rock and broke in 2013.
Findings reveal that about half the rural areas in the US, do not have Internet access. Government sources say that there are plans to distribute about $20 billion over the next five years to support rural broadband.