Nearly 325,000 Americans had their internet connections disrupted last year by criminals, leading to lengthy blackouts. Rather than bolstering the weaknesses in our communications infrastructure, President Trump is taking a hammer to it.
The president announced on TruthSocial a new 50 percent tariff on copper as a means of boosting U.S. copper mining and manufacturing. Whether the tariff will have such an effect on the copper mining industry is dubious. What’s more certain is the tariff’s likely effect on the communications infrastructure — mainly, that it will increase criminal activity, harm consumers and exacerbate the problems caused by outdated broadband policy.
The link between copper prices and theft is well documented. In 2024, the cost of copper increased by 9 percent, and during the summer, there were nearly 4,000 reported incidents of theft and vandalism targeting the U.S. communications networking infrastructure. Copper thieves sell their stolen goods to local metal recyclers, and price increases for copper make the illicit business more lucrative.
Trump’s tariff supercharged this trend. Following its announcement, the cost of copper experienced its most significant one-day gain since 1968.
The internet outages resulting from damage to critical infrastructure are a serious problem, especially for those consumers who are connected to the internet via old copper networks.
The problem for copper customers is that the technology is outdated and has largely been supplanted by fiber, cable, 5G wireless and satellite. A consequence of this market shift is that the tools and components needed to fix copper systems are no longer widely manufactured, resulting in slower and more costly repairs. The fact that most copper customers are in rural and low-income areas also contributes to the difficulty of timely maintenance.
Theft affects other wireline consumers as well, because criminals frequently damage fiber infrastructure, which they mistake for copper networks. Damage to fiber lines has resulted in several major outages, affecting airports and emergency services. As broadband has permeated every part of our lives, these outages can lead to devastation well beyond the customers who lose their internet connection.
Cities must anticipate increased threats against broadband networks and take steps to head off damage. Some cities are allocating resources to combat copper theft and fiber vandalism, and others should do the same. These efforts are critical for cities in California and Texas, which combined, accounted for more than half of the theft and vandalism incidents last summer.
Local efforts aren’t enough. State laws have widely varied definitions of critical communications infrastructure, some of which exclude the parts of networks often targeted by criminals. At the federal level, Congress should expand the criminal code governing malicious mischief affecting government property to include broadband infrastructure. Expanding these laws would provide a stronger legal framework for holding criminals who target communications infrastructure accountable.
Additionally, states should reform “carrier-of-last-resort” rules to accelerate the transition away from legacy copper networks and toward next-generation broadband connectivity. Carrier-of-last-resort rules require internet service providers to continue allocating resources to maintaining legacy copper networks. Instead, these resources should be used to upgrade networks to connect copper customers via newer and better technologies. The Federal Communications Commission is exploring ways to aid in the transition away from copper, and states should follow suit.
Trump’s tariff on copper is not the most effective mechanism for bolstering mining and manufacturing, and the tariff’s effect on the cost of copper will lead to adverse consumer outcomes that go far beyond Americans’ pocketbooks.
