sundance-communications.com/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Outside Plant OSP Construction AT&T Binding posts

So if I understand correctly...You call AT&T to get your line activated and they tell you where the OSP is? train you on how to climb a step pole and hang a drop? then they also tool you for the install?

The LEC drops the lines to the MPOE, then we take it from there. They only extend the service to the suite/apt/home if customer pays extra for them to do so.

what about detached homes?

Same, but a lot of the times with homes and apartments, when telco turns on the service, the jacks are already connected to the mpoe.

At least we don't have to use our hooks or hang drops anymore. The MPOE or SNI MUST be attached to the building by AT&T.

Thankfully I don't do much residential work anymore and normally am only at 25-1500 pr terminals.
Like Aaron, this 50 pr. is what I saw today.


The green board is the only interface they leave for us to connnect to. All the 66 blocks shown here have been provided by the various independent contractors, NOT AT&T.

CT (cut through) orders are ones where AT&T GUESSES that the B-Box xcon hasn't changed from the previous tennant. They connect at the mainframe and call it a day. occasionally they come to mark it. If the B-box changes, they come out more often, but not always. Up until last week it was very common to call for the BP on new installs because you could easily arrrive to a terminal with no tag and no dial tone. If you don't have access to the information how are you supposed to tell if it is open out, or on a Binding post you just didn't find by guessing? I've always been a proponent of the callit and get shocked method

My bigger problem is repairs. If it's a company who has been there for a long time, the tags are non existent.

@Andy - NID's are not an issue - either your dial tone is going to be on one of the 6 pairs or not.

AT&T (SBC/PacBell/Pacific Telephone) typically uses one of these for a business installation:

This is the Minimum Point Of Entry, where we are requesting to know which of the 100 binding posts my customer's numbers should be on. Since that count of the F2 may appear at multiple premises, we don't want to spend the time to ID all the numbers on the block, and also risk interrupting someone's conversations or even DSL connection.

Last week, for the first time, I was refused the Binding Post number from AT&T repair - it was a new number, I could not find it on any of the 100 possible pairs, and wanted to know A): if the order was complete, and B): where it should appear. If the order wasn't yet complete I would tie down my jumper and tag it for AT&T to move if they worked it to another BP.

They said that the order was complete, but couldn't tell me where it was, but could have a tech come out and tag it. (Which they did within 4 hours - but it still required a return trip from us)

A new customer of mine moved into an existing space and remodeled. They ordered 4 phone lines from at&t which were brought into the suite and 'tagged' on a 25 pair 66 block (circled in red)...no demarc, no bridge clips, just wires. I did not take a "before" picture but there were myriad 25 pair cables punched down, and naturally they did not bother to tag the lines on the FEED, but on those random abandoned cables!
The other cables with a red ? presumably also lead to the basement main phone room which has 2 large cabinets full of old 400 series cards.

Was talking to an at&t tech today, he said they just drop the liness at the MPOE and charge exttra to get the lines working on the premises. He also said that at&t out here has been discussing dropping inside wiring from one of the services they provide. I forgot to ask about the binding post thinng which started this whole thread!

Reading this thread got me thinking about how fundamentally different practices still co-exist in various parts of the old Bell System...

I haven't installed a conventional phone line in years, but my understanding is that in POTS world in NYC, the MPOE is still 12 inches into the customer prem, residence or business, do or die. Everything after that is billed separately as inside wiring.

No one in their right mind leaves anything in the basement, *unless* it's one of those buildings where the riser is owned by the building itself and we are not allowed to touch it...

Special circuits go by a whole different set of rules which can seem asinine at times...

Ever since the paper time sheets were replaced by PDAs 5-6 years ago, demarc info is a requirement on both installation and repair work at closeout. Now, correct demarc is a whole another ball of wax...

When I was doing work that involved CLEC orders, we always gave out demarc to CLECs over the phone at closeout as well...and were required to tag every circuit. Not that everyone went with that...but I still bump into my old tags from 7-8 years ago on occasion...

My experiences only...

I hate when people tie jumper wire around cross-connect wire to dress it. Leave it alone!