Cuts in fiber-optic lines early Thursday at two locations near Silicon Valley shut down two IBM facilities and affected an organization in charge of Internet domain names.

The cuts, in San Carlos and San Jose, California, also disrupted wired and wireless telecommunications services for thousands of users in the region. AT&T, which owns the main affected fibers, expected service to be restored by Thursday evening. Police suspect vandals did the damage, which would have involved removing manhole covers and using cutting tools to sever thick cables that each contain many strands of fiber. AT&T, Verizon and Sprint Nextel users were affected.

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And more on possible serious consequences here.