UPDATE, August 12th 2025: Telus has since confirmed the cause to be cable theft. We are awaiting further details as there is no estimated time of resolution.
Over the weekend, someone cut a chunk of 1200 Pair copper cable (2400 wires) at a pole beside the CN Rail track in the BCR industrial area of Prince George. Initial rumours have suggested theft due to the bush-covered area of the damage, but this is not confirmed and remains speculation.
Many companies in the area may find their phone services down this morning. Please take a look at the instructions further down this bulletin if your services are affected.
Telus will likely need to pull a new cable under the railway tracks and splice the latest chunk of cable. This is a significant job. Telus Maintenance Crews were only notified about the damage at approximately 9:30 a.m. this morning (August 11th, 2025). There is no confirmed fix time. DoTel technicians expect that in the next 24-48 hours, Telus may have it fixed, but nothing has been formally released.
Here is an example of a 1200-pair cable for reference:
What is a 1200 pair cable used for?
A 1200-pair telecom cable is basically a big bundle of telephone wires—1,200 individual copper pairs all wrapped together in one thick cable.
In plain terms:
In a location with hundreds of businesses, each business needs its own telephone lines back to the phone company’s office. Instead of running 1,200 separate little wires along the street, you put all those pairs together inside one big jacket. That’s a 1200-pair cable.
What to do if your business is affected
- Call Telus Business repair at 1-888-977-9898.
- Provide your account # and what your last bill was and last payment amount (for authentication reasons).
- Provide Telus with a call-forward number, such as a cell phone, until the repair is complete.
As a reminder, DoTel Inc. is not affiliated with Telus. We are an independent telecommunications company and carrier. Providing news stories such as this helps to keep our customers informed.
Telus technicians provided some information, which could differ from a formal Telus review.
Any questions for us, or looking to move your phone numbers to DoTel services instead? Please let us know:
250-962-8484
dispatch@dotel.ca