Snack rats eat biobased fiber optic cables, send London’s G.Network into bankruptcy

In the United Kingdom, London internet provider G.Network has entered administration because it used fiber optic cable jackets made of soy- and corn-based materials that have been chewed by rats. First reported The Telegraph, G.Network is £300 million (US$411 million) in debt and only had 25,000 paying subscribers.  Community Fibre was considering acquiring the company’s assets, but decided against it after discovering the extensive rodent damage.

“Rodents like ducts and they like fibers, which are very tasty,” Community Fibre chief Graeme Oxby told The Telegraph. “It’s not something we’ve been particularly interested in because we think it’s got quite a lot of structural issues and would be quite an expensive fix.”