Well, Libya did it, Egypt did it – and now one old woman in Georgia has done it, cutting off a country’s entire internet for several hours.
The 75-year-old had been scavenging for copper near Tblisi late last month when her spade hit a fiberoptic cable, partly exposed due to recent heavy rainfall.
Unfortunately, however, the cable was a vital part of neighboring Armenia’s internet infrastructure, with the country receiving over 90 percent of its internet capacity via Armenia.
As a result, the company’s main internet providers – ArmenTel, FiberNet Communication and GNC-Alfa – found their service suddenly cut off. Services in Azerbaijan and Georgia itself were also hit.
The unfortunate woman has been charged with causing damage to property, and faces up to three years in prison, local media report.
“Taking into account her advancing years, she has been released pending the end of the investigation and subsequent trial,” a spokesman for the Georgian Interior Ministry told AFP.
The cable is owned by Georgian Railway Telecom, which restored service after about twelve hours.
