Ancient telephone wiring!

[GeoffBaxter]

I currently have a single BT phone line. The line is fed from outside into what appears to be a junction box which then feeds into what i assume is the basic master socket which provides the connection. The rectangle junction box must be over 50 years old and ideally i would like to remove it as I am in the process of making some changes in my home.

The wiring into the junction also appears to be ancient, as they consist of green,orange,white, and black none of which is consistent with modern colourings. The only wires from the master socket are blue/brown which feed into the junction box.

The distance between the exetrnal line feed and the master socket is about four feet, so it seems strange that a junction box was fitted about halfway between the two.

I was really wondering whether I can easily adapt this layout to more modern standards as I am sure the ancient wiring is affecting the quality of the phone line when in use.

 

[TonyW2]

The wiring (including the junction box) upto the master socket belongs to BT.
If that is causing any problem with your telephone service, then Openreach/BT should correct it, free of charge. If your phone line is supplied by another provider, then you will need to go via them.
The opportunity to install a new NT5 and remove the connection box could be taken.

You are not supposed to touch those wires yourself.

 

[tomy]

The wire coming into your house can only have a short length inside the house which is why there is a junction box and the cable will then change to internal wire to the master socket , if the line is working fine you would be charged to replace or rewire it, if you damage it causing a fault you will also be charged to replace it .

 

[JOHNBOY42]

I currently have a single BT phone line. The line is fed from outside into what appears to be a junction box which then feeds into what i assume is the basic master socket which provides the connection. The rectangle junction box must be over 50 years old and ideally i would like to remove it as I am in the process of making some changes in my home.

The wiring into the junction also appears to be ancient, as they consist of green,orange,white, and black none of which is consistent with modern colourings. The only wires from the master socket are blue/brown which feed into the junction box.

The distance between the exetrnal line feed and the master socket is about four feet, so it seems strange that a junction box was fitted about halfway between the two.

I was really wondering whether I can easily adapt this layout to more modern standards as I am sure the ancient wiring is affecting the quality of the phone line when in use.

Do not phone openreach if its working ok they will charge you about £130 just for a callout...its not hard to upgrade the nte/bt80 and wiring but get the local paper and you should see a ad from a ex bt engineer ...just get some quotes...at a guess about 30-40 quid

 

[Infidel]

The black wire you refer to is infact up to date and is usualy used as an overhead feed to your house and the colour code ia white/orange 1st pair green/black the 2nd .
These are then connected to internal wiring and by the sound of it and old bit of 4wire orange blue green and brown, and then on to the nte.
Basically if it works BT take the position you want us to tidy it up you pay.

 

[Paul-man]

The black wire you refer to is infact up to date and is usualy used as an overhead feed to your house and the colour code ia white/orange 1st pair green/black the 2nd .
These are then connected to internal wiring and by the sound of it and old bit of 4wire orange blue green and brown, and then on to the nte.
Basically if it works BT take the position you want us to tidy it up you pay.

Not necessarily an overhead. Underground cable used to be that colour code too. However, not necessarily anything wrong with it apart from the aesthetics.

 

[Paul_C]

The orange/white/green/black seen on the current style drop wire is the legacy of a code which goes back a very long way and was once used on large multi-pair cables.

Each layer of the cable was made up mostly of alternating red/slate and blue/brown pairs. But for splicing, obviously you needed some sort of marker to know at which point around the layer to start, so the first pair of the layer was made a distinctive orange/white. Then you needed to know whether the pairs counted up in a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction as you were looking at the end of the cable. So the last pair in the layer was made green/black.

With the 2-pair drop wire you have only a "first" and a "last" pair, hence orange/white and green/black. The 4-pair version also has red/slate and blue/brown, which are the second and third pairs respectively.

 

[Mrdjc]

Just as a comparison, My parents live in a remote location in Scotland and we have about 60meters of overhead wire which goes over a field and between trees to the house, I enquired to see what it would cost for them to connect both ends and give us a new NTE5 box.

Bear in mind I'd be doing all the work trenching for the cable to be put in, they just need to connect about 2m's outside our perimeter and terminate the cable next to the house with a new NTE5 box.

We got quoted around £1100,- to do the work. (For an engineer to come out, dig a 2M section from our perimiter to the junction box outside it, connect into it and fix a new NTE5box at the house. )

 

[bernardgreen]

I do not know if this is still allowed but might be worth asking.

You provide a secure weatherproof box on your boundary and OpenReach install the NTE 5 ( or similar network terminal point ) in the box. You take responsibility for the cable from the box to the house as DIY "internal" wiring.

This used to be known as a "farmer's line" as it was the method used on many farms where the cable route was not easy to access with normal GPO engineering equipment.