Broken Telkom cable

[TeRRoRByteZ2007]

Hi guys,

Just need a bit of advice. I have recently purchased a house and had some renovations done. Now that I am actually thinking about getting a telephone line installed for ADSL, I decided to track down where the telephone line runs. It seems that during the renovations, the line entering the house was cut by the builders

So now here is the question. Is it possible for me to join the line? There is still enough cable for me to be able to get it into the roof and then join it from there. The cable coming from the Telkom pole is a thick black two core cable. Is it worth me doing this since I'll have to apply for line activation? I'm not sure if Telkom will come out anyway then to check and fix the line? If I can do this myself, how do I go about doing it? I did read in another thread that using CAT-5 cable?

I'm purely using the line just for ADSL and wanted the telephone box fitted in the roof so that it isn't visible. A Telkom tech I spoke to said that they don't install the box in the roof as they aren't allowed to get into the roof.

Any advice would be appreciated

 

[MickZA]

A Telkom tech I spoke to said that they don't install the box in the roof as they aren't allowed to get into the roof.

True, you need to have the indoor jack that they test to for faults installed in an accessible location. Internal house wiring plugged into the jack is your responsibility as far fault resolution is concerned.

 

[Lupus]

Firstly that's bull about the roof, the Telkom techie was in the roof running the cable through to the lounge two weeks ago. Also they don't install the conduit box he is right but you can do that if you wish it's not hard, we did it. The techie also re-ran the cable as ours was also chopped in half, so they can do that as well from the pole to the pipe by your place, they put a tone generator on and test which cable it is. Not sure it's from the pole though it might come from a DB Box somewhere near your property.

 

[TeRRoRByteZ2007]

Ahh perfect. Well if they fix it then I won't bother trying from my side Thanks for the replies. I was thinking they could maybe just install the box at the roof access hatch since they don't have to get into the roof then

 

[TeRRoRByteZ2007]

Firstly that's bull about the roof, the Telkom techie was in the roof running the cable through to the lounge two weeks ago. Also they don't install the conduit box he is right but you can do that if you wish it's not hard, we did it. The techie also re-ran the cable as ours was also chopped in half, so they can do that as well from the pole to the pipe by your place, they put a tone generator on and test which cable it is. Not sure it's from the pole though it might come from a DB Box somewhere near your property.

Did it cost anything extra since they had to run new cable from the pole?

Looking at the Telkom site, R620 for line rental installation. Is that what I'll have to pay?

 

[MickZA]

Did it cost anything extra since they had to run new cable from the pole?

Looking at the Telkom site, R620 for line rental installation. Is that what I'll have to pay?

It's a flat fee for a new installation - poles, cabling and one point.

... btw, there's no reason why you can't have the jack installed in the garage or similar and then run your own in-house cabling.

 

[Lupus]

Did it cost anything extra since they had to run new cable from the pole?

Looking at the Telkom site, R620 for line rental installation. Is that what I'll have to pay?

Nope it didn't cost anything extra, the techie was out by our place for about four hours as well as we had to trace the cable to the underground manhole as well. At first he was going to give up and say no the cable isn't laid and you will need an electrician to come dig up the paving and your front garden, my wife grabbed a spade and started digging the garden up, I dragged the techie to the manhole and made him push through the steel fish-hook type cable, place the tone gen on and we traced .

 

[TeRRoRByteZ2007]

It's a flat fee for a new installation - poles, cabling and one point.

... btw, there's no reason why you can't have the jack installed in the garage or similar and then run your own in-house cabling.

Only problem is that the garage is apart from the house Would've been ideal then. I really don't mind doing my own run, but just hate having the ugly box somewhere where it is visible. We renovated and made the place really nice, and don't want them to come and poke holes through the new cornices we just put up (which was a pain in the @ss), as it is we had really bad experiences so far and really can't afford for something else to go wrong again. Would they install a point in a cupboard? We have a linen cupboard that our alarm system is already fitted in and would be a great place to hide the box.

 

[MickZA]

We have a linen cupboard that our alarm system is already fitted in and would be a great place to hide the box.

You can but ask, just as long as it's accessible for fault finding

... it's all down to the guy who does the job, explain your concerns and see if he can make a plan - you might be pleasantly surprised.

 

[TeRRoRByteZ2007]

You can but ask, just as long as it's accessible for fault finding

... it's all down to the guy who does the job, explain your concerns and see if he can make a plan - you might be pleasantly surprised.

Yeah, I know some would go out of their way to make it happen. I'm just hoping it'll be one of those that'll come out when I request for a new line. Thanks for the help!

Oh the other reason why I wanted to put the telephone box in the roof is because I was thinking of placing the router in the roof, in the middle of the house

 

[MickZA]

... I was thinking of placing the router in the roof, in the middle of the house

Well, if you're young and limber it might be a plan but it's amazing how often you need to power cycle a router and watch the leds.

... me? I think twice about going up a ladder these days, at my age bones are turning brittle