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Message 1 of 7

Tracing phone line?

Help needed.

Phone installed 50 years ago, route from pole 90 yards away unknown....

Needing to locate route in garden before groundworks start.

I did collar an openreach/bt worker who was passing and after consulting his computer and looking at the pole, he deduced I did not have a phoneline! I said I shall ask for refund as payed for it for 50 years!! I have since located what appears to be it in the same trench my water main comes onto the property,  but that is 50 yards from current dwelling.

My question is.... who do I approach to locate the route of the line in my garden? To whom do I write , email or phone?

6 REPLIES 6
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Message 2 of 7

Re: Tracing phone line?

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Message 3 of 7

Re: Tracing phone line?

The overwhelming majority of customers served from telegraph poles are ( obviously ) fed overhead , if your service is delivered underground it could be from the telegraph pole , or could  be a distribution point in the ground in a jointbox for example ,  if it is the pole with the cable running down the pole to ground level then underground towards your home, in either case a cable  should either inside a duct or be an armoured cable, and there should be a point on your external wall where the cable or duct or both appear, and an external box on the wall where another ‘internal’ cable runs inside the property to the position of the master socket…it’s the block on the external wall you need to locate , as this is the only point initially will be known .

TBH, if you are getting work done , then the builder/developer/contractor you would image has had this situation many times and would know what to look for and how to avoid any underground services, and probably have their own ‘cat and geny’ type device to track underground cables ….it’s unlikely that OR will have a particularly accurate record of the route of the cable , and although they offer to locate their services in public  areas  ( because damage here is likely to affect many’s customers ) , if you want the cable tracking in your land it could be charged for…..

Its Openreach you would need to contact about this , not BT , that is assuming BT are your provider.

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Message 4 of 7

Re: Tracing phone line?

Thanks guru
It is armoured cable running in the water pipe trench. Unfortunately the next sighting of the cable is at the current property some50 yards away. It is the route of the bit in the middle I need to trace. My phone is the only one served by the pole (very rural). Thanks for link. I shall take a look.
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Message 5 of 7

Re: Tracing phone line?

Sorry, beginner! Thanks iniltous and jac_95
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Message 6 of 7

Re: Tracing phone line?

Hi @Nelly1 and welcome back.

Good to see you again. I'd be interested know how this is resolved so please get back to us with the end result.

Thanks @iniltous and @jac_95 for the input.

Cheers

David

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Message 7 of 7

Re: Tracing phone line?

Hi David m
I certainly will. I looked at request form, and see £40+ so may give it a bit more thought as no guarantee of any result, especially as OR chap said no line!