News
Reports say a bizarre incident in Miami at a T-Mobile cell tower caused disruptions and damages.
By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
Between $100,000 and $500,000 in damages were caused when a man scaled a Miami cell tower and began damaging equipment, according to published reports about the April 3 incident.
A widely published statement from T-Mobile about the incident said a field technician for T-Mobile responded after the cell tower’s systems signaled that there was an ongoing issue at the site.
According to T-Mobile’s statement, the incident ended safely and the company assured customers that coverage overlaps in the area would maintain connectivity.
Shortly after the incident, Miami Police made a Facebook post stating that the “trespasser of the cell-phone tower has been arrested for burglary of an unoccupied structure and criminal mischief.”
Media reports said authorities are unclear why the man scaled tower but reported that the man didn’t threaten to harm himself or anyone else and wasn’t wearing safety equipment.
Video of the incident showed the man disconnecting wires atop the cell tower, carrying what appeared to be a Bible, before authorities were able to safely help him descend.
According to NBC6 South Florida, which provided details about the arrest report, the damages caused a range of outage issues that will persist until the repairs can be made.
