Federal law makes stealing telecom cables a crime with 10-year prison penalty
S. 5617 — Combating Critical Infrastructure Vandalism Act of 2026 · Filed by Eric Schmitt (R-MO) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Sep 30, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill makes it a federal crime to steal copper, fiber, or coaxial cables. It also makes damaging these cables a crime. The law applies to cables that cross state lines or go to other countries. It does not apply to cables that customers own on their own property.
Who it affects
The bill protects phone and internet companies from cable theft and damage. It protects people who use phone and internet service. Theft and damage can cut off their service.
One thing to notice
Theft of telecom cables is now a federal crime with up to 10 years in prison. The law only covers cables that cross state lines or go to other countries.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Sep 30, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Sep 30, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- coaxial cables — Thick wires that carry TV, phone, and internet signals to homes and businesses.
- fiber — Thin glass or plastic strands that carry phone and internet signals very fast.
- copper — A metal used in cables to carry phone and internet signals.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,993 characters) on Oct 7, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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