AT&T Offers $10K Reward for Tips as Cable Theft Soars Alongside Copper Prices

As robberies rise right alongside prices for copper, AT&T (T) and its cable-rich infrastructure have attracted the wrong kind of attention. The telecom is now offering cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of copper cable thieves in multiple states, from California to Kentucky.

It’s just another indicator that copper prices (P9Y00) have reached unprecedented heights, creating powerful economic incentives for infrastructure theft. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) surged to an all-time high of $14,635 per metric ton on Sept. 8, with prices climbing approximately 17% year-to-date and 47% over the past 12 months. 

At these levels, the scrap value of copper wiring in telecommunications infrastructure has become extraordinarily attractive to criminal enterprises, making cable theft an escalating operational and financial challenge for carriers like AT&T.

What’s Behind the Copper Rally

The record copper price environment is driven by a convergence of structural and policy-related forces. Anticipated US tariffs on refined copper imports, potentially starting at 15% in January 2027 and rising to 30% by 2028, have triggered a massive rush of metal into the United States, with over 225,000 metric tons of refined copper imported in July alone. 

This tariff-driven hoarding has distorted global trade flows, draining inventories from LME warehouses and tightening physical availability outside the US. Shanghai Futures Exchange copper inventories have plummeted approximately 85% from their mid-March peak, while cancelled warrants on the LME indicate that more than 121,000 tons could leave the warehouse system in coming weeks.

Supply & Demand Push Copper Prices Higher

On the supply side, global copper mine production declined 1.1% in the first half of 2026, with Chile recording its weakest second-quarter output in at least 19 years. Major producers including Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), still recovering from the 2025 Grasberg mine disaster, have posted double-digit production declines. 

Morgan Stanley now sees the possibility of the first annual decline in global mine supply since 2017. Aging mine infrastructure, declining ore grades, and project development timelines exceeding 15 years make rapid supply responses virtually impossible.

Demand pressures are intensifying simultaneously, fueled by AI data center construction, electric vehicle adoption, renewable energy deployment, and power grid expansion. 

These structural trends are creating what analysts describe as rigid long-term demand against constrained supply, a combination that historically produces extended commodity super-cycles. Citigroup forecasts LME copper reaching $15,000 per ton by year-end, with potential to climb toward $17,000 under favorable demand scenarios.

Barchart’s own commodity columnist Andrew Hecht, writing about COMEX copper futures (HGZ26), said in late August that “Given the bullish trend, copper futures at the $7 level is not out of the question by the end of 2026.”

AT&T’s Expensive Infrastructure

For AT&T specifically, the surge in copper prices creates a dual burden. The company faces rising replacement costs for stolen infrastructure while simultaneously confronting an environment where the incentive for theft continues to grow. 

A recent major fiber outage in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which impacted over 7,000 families, illustrates how cable and equipment damage can cause widespread service disruptions. Whether caused by theft or equipment failure, such outages carry substantial costs in repair expenses, customer credits, and reputational damage.

The “bounty” program represents AT&T's acknowledgment that traditional security measures are insufficient in a market where copper's value has more than tripled since 2016. The telecommunications industry broadly faces this challenge, as legacy copper networks remain embedded across vast geographic footprints despite ongoing fiber upgrades. 

Until copper prices meaningfully retreat or carriers complete the transition away from copper-based infrastructure, the economic calculus favoring theft will persist, making proactive measures like reward programs a necessary complement to physical security investments.

This article was created with the support of automated content tools from our partners at Sigma.AI. Together, our financial data and AI solutions help us to deliver more informed market headline analysis to readers faster than ever.     

On the date of publication, Sarah Holzmann did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.