Having carried out complex telephone work for some of the UK’s major PLCs, I thought that sorting out domestic telephone wiring would be easy. Not so.
So,Telecom Green Ltd have been heavily involved in large phone system removal and recycling since 1999, and now offer a telephone wiring, fault finding, cabling, installation and repair service for domestic users and small businesses close to our base on the North Yorkshire border, near Stockton on Tees.
We’d been trading in used phone system equipment, as well as removing large PABX system and had increasingly developed classic telephone engineer skills in installation, cabling, programming and supply of systems. So, in 2011, as the market continued to evolve, we’d started marketing these services in the local area. So far, so good.
But why does this new side of our business come as a bit of a shock? Well, domestic telephone wiring can contain all kinds of “challenges”;- use of poor-quality and incorrect components, confusingly mixed colour coding of the actual telephone wiring, cables hidden behind, underneath, and through things, or simply cut off and buried in a garden. And sockets hanging off the wall, even the BT Master Socket as well as other horrors. Some home owners inherit the “creative” DIY telephone wiring handiwork of previous occupants. And, occasionally, things stop working.
Also, the humble domestic phone line was never designed to carry huge chunks of high-speed data such as broadband internet. I’m utterly amazed that broadband ever works at all. And sometimes it doesn’t. And once we’ve sorted internal telephone wiring problems out, we can help if the customer is in a dispute with their broadband company, who often claim that their service is just fine, whereas the speed is pretty lousy. It might just be their fault. But how do you prove it? We can help
And on the other hand, if the problem is at you side (due to faulty telephone wiring), then Openreach will charge you for their visit. At least £130. Ouch. Beware.
So, as much as we occasionally moan, we love the challenges of domestic telephone wiring problems. Drop us a line, call us on 01642 205077, or leave a comment below if you think we can help.
Hi, had lots of crackling on the line so took the oval socket apart ( did not know then that I should not), found water in the connectors, tried to fit a new connection socket and cut the incoming orange wire to short! Managed to botch together with a block connector so I can still use phone and broadband ( speed slow though) still got the noise, is it possible the cable coming in from the top of the window that runs behind the window lining is rotten? Also could the exterior cable be cut and a new piece joined without having to replace the whole cable from the pole?
Really asking the question ” where do I go from here? Is this an Openreach only solution?
Thanks
Jeff K
Thanks for getting in touch.
You are sort of at a “point of no return” – if Openreach fix this, they will charge you a minimum of £130.
Jointing in a new bit of cable properly will get you back on the air, but may not solve your noise problem – Openreach need to do this. It could be anywhere from your house to the exchange.
I would use one of these, which Openreach use. Or use two and connect them with “Dropwire 10”, which is available on eBay, also an Openreachspec product.
If the noise persists, connect via the test socket on your master socket (disconnecting everything else in your house, dial 17070, choose the “quietline” option from the spoken menu, and see if you can still hear the noise.
If you’ve done the joint to a decent standard, then the Openreach person shouldn’t give you any problems!
The provider’s customer service department is best called from the noisy line so they can hear the problem, as they will normally not take your word for it, do a “line test” and say that the problem is your end. Tell them that you are using the test socket on the master socket.
I hope that this helps.
If it does, could you leave some feedback at either or both of the below, please?
https://plus.google.com/+TelecomgreenCoUk
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It helps to keep bread on the table!
Thanks
Rob