Reports are comming in of fiber cables being cut in and around santa cruz, the cables are owned by AT&T, and cutting them took down telephone services in the area

from sfgate:

Four AT&T fiber-optic cables in an underground vault were severed shortly before 1:30 a.m. along Monterey Highway north of Blossom Hill Road in south San Jose, police Sgt. Ronnie Lopez said. Four more underground cables, at least two of which belong to AT&T, were cut about two hours later along Old County Road near Bing Street in San Carlos, authorities said. John Britton, spokesman for AT&T, said, "Clearly, we have some vandalism. Someone purposefully and deliberately cut the wires." He added, "We can't speculate about any connection, but the method of operation appears to be the same." Britton said the four cables that were cut in San Jose were about the width of a silver dollar and were encased in tough plastic sheath. One cable contained 360 fibers, and the other three had 48 fibers each. In both instances, saboteurs had to use a piece of equipment to lift heavy manhole covers and climb down several feet to get to the cables. They would have to have been equipped with heavy-duty cutting equipment to slice through the thick cable coating. Police in San Jose and San Carlos are sharing information, said Cmdr. Rich Cinfio, a spokesman for San Carlos police. Investigators said they had no suspects in either act of vandalism. AT&T announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the perpetrators.

Speculation has arisen about who could have done it, with a recent contract failing being a prime suspect.