OK, so basically something like
this from Clearline, where the earth wire (green one at bottom) goes straight to a ground spike with the cable length being no longer than 3m.
That Clearline is to make direct lightning strikes (not just near strikes) irrelevant. This only based on observation since detailed specs were not provided. Earthing that protector means protection superior to disconnecting. Only the naive believe disconnecting is sufficient protection - especially when the most unreliable thing inside a building is humans. (Why are humans so innovative? Because humans make so many mistakes. Good for innovation. Bad for surge protection.)
Observation suggests Clearline is similar to devices installed by your telco. Telcos also do not disconnect. Disconnecting is too unreliable. Reality: superior protectors are also some of the least expensive, in part, because the naive tend to buy an inferior solutions when it costs more.
Now, that is two incoming wires. Zero protection exists if any wire enters the building without that short connection to the same earthing electrode. A surge incoming on any other wire (ie AC electric) may find earth ground destructively via the phone line. This is a most common destructive path through telecom equipment. You must implement this solution to every incoming wire (including satellite dish) to not have telecom damage. If any AC wire also does not have an earthed protector, then surge on AC wires may find earth via telephone equipment and Clearline protector.
How good is your earthing? Earthing (not protectors) is where more money means better protection. Protectors are only simple science. The art is earthing. Some example from history to make that Clearline more effective.
Disconneccting: early 20th Century Ham radio operators would suffer lightning damage even when an antenna lead was disconnected and put inside a Mason jar. When did damage stop? When the antenna lead was connected to earth. Even 100 years ago, disconnecting was not a reliable solution. Earthing eliminated damage.
How irrelevant are nearby strikes? Two examples. First a longwire (40 meter) antenna was near a direct lightning strike. Therefore multiple thousands of volts appeared on that antenna lead. So an NE-2 (neon glow light) was connected to that lead. A light that conducts only tens of milliamps. Now those thousands of volts are reduced to a trivial ten. A current so small that the neon glow lamp hardly glows. Nearby strikes are that trivial - that easily made irrelevant. Address transients that actually do damage - direct strikes.
Second example: lightning struck the building's lightning rod. That massive current traveled to earth via a wire 1 meter outside of a working PC. Fields from that direct lightning stike destroyed the nearby computer? Yes according urban myths posted here and that an overwhelming majority believe. No. That computer did not even blink. Nearby strikes do not cause damage because all appliances contain superior protection.
How do myths get created? Third example demonstrates better earthing (because a protectors is only as effective as its earth ground). Lightning struck a nearby tree. Therefore a cow some 8 meters away died. Nearby fields killed the cow? Of course not. As stated repeatedly from science: current must have both an incoming and outgoing path. That nearby strike was a direct strike to the cow. How?
A current path is not from a cloud some five kilometers to distant charges. The path is three kilometers down to that tree and four kilometers through earth to distant charges. A shortest path was up the cow's hind legs and down its fore legs. Cow was directly struck (and killed) due to no single point ground.
Protect that cow: a buried copper wire (similar soluton is called Ufer ground) surrounding the cow means no electric current through that cow. (Same technique is to keep your feet together during a thunderstorm.)
The uneducated would assume a nearby strike killed the cow. Observation without knowledge often creates myths. Myths also promote disconnecting or more money on expensive (scam) protectors. One poster mocks knowledge that was understood even 100 years ago because he 'feels' it must be false. Resulting myths based in hearsay, junk science, and soundbyte logic will deny that Clearline can conduct 10,000 amps without damage. (Since you probably do not understand why, then you should be asking an obvious question.)
Reality. Nearby lightning strikes do not cause damage. Damage is only due to a direct strike - with both an incomng and outgoing path to earth. Protection is always about earthing direct strikes without damage even to the Clearline protector. Protection is always about energy not inside the building (ie not wasting money on plug-in protectors).
To have damage (or death) means both an incoming and outgoing current path existed. Protection (which disconnecting cannot provide) always means 'diverting' to earth. That Clearline apparently says 10,000 amps to earth without damage. Then a typical direct lightning strike would not damage even the protector. If properly earthed, no interior telecom equipment would be damaged (assume all other incoming wires are also properly earthed).
Above examples demonstrate principles you should understand to make that Clearline protector effective (and even how to protect yourself during thunderstorms). The soundbyte: that protector is only as effective as its earth ground. That art demonstrated in some examples.
