ABC7 comes to woman's aid once again, helps restore landline service for 2nd time

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- For months, 7 On Your Side has been showing you how rampant copper theft has been impacting telephone landline service all over Los Angeles.

Back in April, Claudine Douglas reached out to us because her landline phone hadn't worked for months. After Eyewitness News contacted the company, her phone was restored but it went out again a few weeks ago.

"All I can say is it's been very upsetting to go all day long and (I) don't get a phone call," Douglas said. "... At my age, I don't get that many."

The 95-year-old went without phone service for two months. AT&T said it was going to take a while after copper wires were stolen, but after a call from 7 On Your Side, service was restored in two days.

Her daughter, Loretha Vester, says all of her grandchildren and other kids live out of town.

"They can't call and speak to her. You know, if you were 96 you would want phone calls, you want that... connection."

Vester also said she called AT&T several times.

"I spoke to someone at repair, and I said, 'The phone is still out. What do I have to do? Do I have to call the news back?'" Vester recalled. "She told me yes."

ABC7's Carlos Granda spoke with Susan Santana, the president of AT&T for California and Nevada, and told her Douglas' wish for her 96th birthday: to get her service back.

Just 24 hours after we told AT&T about her problems, Douglas' service was restored again.

When we asked her how she was feeling," Douglas enthusiastically replied: "Great!"

"I have had some calls and I'm very happy about it," she added. "And I really thank you. You are Channel 7."

Santana said the ongoing issue with copper theft is a major problem that continues to hurt vital infrastructure like telephone landlines. Much of this was built 70 years ago.

"If you think of all the various components, they're so difficult to find, believe me... It is a huge supplier challenge because of the legacy and the outdated nature of this network," Santana said.

Southern California is a hot spot for copper theft, and AT&T isn't the only company that has been targeted by copper thieves.

This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill aimed at cracking down on the surge in copper wire theft across the state. AB 476 gives police and cities new tools to track illegal scrap sales and penalize dealers who look the other way.

Watch the video below for more on the problems and challenges that copper theft poses.

For months, 7 On Your Side has been showing you how rampant copper theft has been impacting telephone landline service all over Los Angeles.