atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Outside Plant OSP Construction primary proection not needed on telco drops ?

A customer of mine just had some lines installed for a new store

Verizon brought a 6 pair DB cable in from the street through customer provided conduit and punched it down to a 66 block (one I left there for paging and misc but thats a another issue )

No ground or protection of any sort I questioned it and was told it wasn't needed since the cable was grounded at the pedestal on the street

is this correct practice , we have a number for a installation supervisor but I thought I would ask here first

Wrong. Never in Florida. In some major metropolitan areas where there are high-rises, there are certain instances where lightning isn't much of a risk and therefore protection isn't installed.

I will say that some of the new NIDs that telcos are using have protection built into the blocks inside their compartment that is easy to overlook. They are disposable modules that are usually clear in color or at least have a clear cover.

DB cable should never be punched down directly on a block under any circumstances. IF the pedestal is directly outside the building, as in bolted to the wall, then pedestal-mounted protection will suffice (if it is really in there). Still, if that was the case, they wouldn't need to run direct-burial cable.

I think that you are correct in smelling a rat on this one.

Yeah, I see them do that all the time when there is no ground available where they want to put the NID. They ground to the armor of the DB and bond the armor back at the pedestal. Apparently it complies with the "new Verizon practices".

-Hal

no armor on this cable either at least not on the premise end

like I mentioned the Verizon tech came right up the middle of the backboard and hooked into a 66 block I had mounted as a misc block and off course the alarm guys have now tied in there . I guess they don't provide rj21xs now either :rolleyes:

The customer had the installers number and she left him a VM and he replied basically what Hal said and gave her a supervisor number she asked me to call the supervisor but I thought I would get some opinions here first

worse case I guess I can provide it but why should the customer pay me to do the telcos job

So then not only did the terminate the circuits improperly, they pulled aerial drop wire into an underground conduit. Unless the pedestal is directly-adjacent to the building (very popular in the south), and it includes protected blocks, which I'll be that it doesn't, this installation is wrong.

If they installed new service with no formal point of demarcation to permit the customer to safely and legally ( :rolleyes: ) test their lines, they are wrong. FCC Part 68 and the state's utility regulators make these rules. Verizon just manages to fly below the radar since nobody is actually enforcing the rules.

Putting the protection issue aside, all regulated telcos are required to provide a formal demarcation point. The fact that they have been getting away with simply tagging pairs for years is only because we have let it happen. We are just so happy that they got the lines installed at all that we simply look the other way. Skip, you are right to question this and I'm sure that a supervisor will understand exactly what is wrong.

Bill -

The customer is, and has been for a long time, on their own.

Years ago, maybe 2-3 years after the AT&T breakup I complained bitterly that NY Tel had (Badly) violated Bell System Practices - big time.

The answer I got was:

"There is no more Bell System. We are no longer required to maintain those practices."

The fact that they hadn't maintained those practices for years was moot. Now they just didn't give a @#&$!

If the customer wants it - they'll have to pay for it. Preferably, they'll pay you and not some lowball trunkslammer who's the Telco foreman's brother-in-law (another story).


Sam

I should take a picture of the telco wiring at the new office of the company I work for.
There is a nice 50 pair protector...that's where the nice part ends. Each 25 pair goes to a split 66 block. These cross connects to a 3rd block which I guess was an RJ21X but there is no cover...It has an amphenol on it, and a 25 pair tail from a 4th block plugs into it. The other side of this 4th block has a 25 pair cable feeding the data closet. Naturally hardly anything is labeled except the tags for our T1 circuits.
Gotta love it!

We regularly place orders to move lines to new locations that have no facilities. Before Embarq would pull in a new DB Cable we will install a 4X8X3/4 sheet of plywood and have sparky run at least a number 6 ground. This is the norm for us here in Highlands County. They then install their BET (primary) and run a 21X outside of that. We will then extend it and use secondary protection on the Co's. As long as the customer knows they are paying for a backboard for Embarq and a ground from sparky all is good.

:toast:

Cosmo