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Openreach cabling not buried sufficiently

When gardening yesterday i noticed what i thought was a yellowing leaf poking through the earth, so went to pull it out, only to realise it was a bit of yellow covering  from the cabling that Openreach buried a couple of months ago (though obviously not sufficiently deep enough).  It was originally "buried" along the dividing line of grass and flower border between mine and my neighbour's front garden.  I'm wondering if the gardener has inadvertently strimmed the grass edge and caught a bit of the cable, hence the bit of yellow covering sticking out of the earth.  I've already had to add some topsoil to cover another bit of cable that had come to the surface about a month after it was laid.  Should i be worried that some of the yellow outer has split off, and should i just try and add a bit more earth on top of the cable to try and cover it up more and perhaps put a few stones on top as well.  

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Re: Openreach cabling not buried sufficiently

Fibre optic cables are typically buried at a depth of between 12-24in (30-60cms) in urban areas, and between 24-36in (60-90cms) in rural areas. This depth is designed to protect the cables from accidental damage from digging or other activities.

However, it has been known that some cables might have been laid to a shallower depth, like with Virgin or many of these new AltNets who provide an alternative to BT FTTP, some will just come and dig a shallow trench in your garden only about 5 inches or less deep to lay the cable in, all they do is just hide the cable slightly with some less than 15cm underground!

If a similar thing has been done here with the cable that you mentioned and it hasn't been laid deep enough, then it is no surprise that it will be appearing and liable to possible damage.

 

Have a search of previous forum posts before posting as you'll often find the answer might have already been provided.

See here on this previous forum post:

https://community.bt.com/t5/BT-Fibre-broadband/Fibre-cable-connector-broken-by-builders-BT-think-the...

 

As @imjolly states:

Have you been phoning the FTTP TEAM 08005874787 as they should be able to understand and help you get openreach out to repair. If connector has been damage you may well be charged for the repair

 

So, you need to do as above and phone the BT FTTP team 0800 587 4787, as they will be the best people to deal with your cable appearing and how to progress with it.

You can report it to Openreach themselves - Reporting network damage or health and safety problems - however, they would most likely just tell you to phone up BT for them to deal with it, as that line is more for their equipment like damaged or vandalised cabinets or fibre cables dug up by building work, etc.

BT/EE say similar about contacting Openreach, however as already mentioned above, that is for more serious issues than just a cable being uncovered.

BT: How can I report damage to BT cables, poles, cabinets or manholes?

EE: Report damage or hazards to cables, poles, cabinets and manholes

 

I do not subscribe, so please do not always expect a reply.