I've recently moved into an old house that hasn't been renovated since about the 70s and I'm looking to move the single telephone port and hide the wires behind plaster. The wiring is also quite damaged and I'd prefer to replace it. The wire from the port leads up into the roof where it attaches to a brown oval junction box that appears to connect with wires from outside. This junction box is also damaged with wires exposed. My preference would be to just replace the whole lot. Is this something that needs me to get a professional or is it safe to DIY?
Repairing telephone wiring and junction boxes.
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Q - does the phone plug in or is it wired?
If it's plug-in then you can move/replace/hide the cabling after the socket to suit yourself.
If it's wired - then you shouldn't... Me I'd report it as a fault and hope you get a friendly OR chap to come along along and upgrade for free.
As I guess you are on or going to have a Broadband connection then it's plug in. In which case you will be charged for anything past the master socket or for that matter from the Overhead cable.
Also don't forget that sometime in the next 2 years there will be an enforced change from wire to fibre when the house supplies the power for the phone system - it's also at least one additional box taking power. If you ask nicely the company fitting the fibre will put the box where you expect it to be. Unless you are prepared they won't put. the fibre out of sight and usually just inside the house in a spot that suits them not you. Is it worth your while asking for Fibre now?
To answer your last question there is lots of help on the web for wiring UK domestic phone systems.
If it's plug-in then you can move/replace/hide the cabling after the socket to suit yourself.
If it's wired - then you shouldn't... Me I'd report it as a fault and hope you get a friendly OR chap to come along along and upgrade for free.
As I guess you are on or going to have a Broadband connection then it's plug in. In which case you will be charged for anything past the master socket or for that matter from the Overhead cable.
Also don't forget that sometime in the next 2 years there will be an enforced change from wire to fibre when the house supplies the power for the phone system - it's also at least one additional box taking power. If you ask nicely the company fitting the fibre will put the box where you expect it to be. Unless you are prepared they won't put. the fibre out of sight and usually just inside the house in a spot that suits them not you. Is it worth your while asking for Fibre now?
To answer your last question there is lots of help on the web for wiring UK domestic phone systems.
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It may be worth checking how far the fibre broadband rollout has got in your area:
Copper cabling to the property, will soon be obsolete.
Theoretically, all the cable running to the telephone master socket is the property of the telephone provider - if it's in a poor state, they may be able to sort it out, or hasten the move to fibre.
Where and when we're building Ultrafast Full Fibre broadband
Openreach is committed to being as open as we can about our Fibre to the Premises build programme and we regularly publish our roll-out plans..
www.openreach.com
Theoretically, all the cable running to the telephone master socket is the property of the telephone provider - if it's in a poor state, they may be able to sort it out, or hasten the move to fibre.
When I moved to current house (sounds just like yours, not been touched for a long time), the phone point also terminated in a brown junction box and crackled / was too poor for broadband.
On the advice from here, I called my provider and told them there was no "NTE", a network termination endpoint and just a knackered old brown junction box.
This was passed to Openreach, who replaced in within a few days, and relocated the entry point somewhere sane.
On the advice from here, I called my provider and told them there was no "NTE", a network termination endpoint and just a knackered old brown junction box.
This was passed to Openreach, who replaced in within a few days, and relocated the entry point somewhere sane.
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OpenReach look after the cables and boxes up to the master socket, after that it is yours, but you can't deal with OpenReach the telephone or internet provider has to do that, your problem it seems is as yet you have no master socket, in the old days telephones did not plug in, they were hard wired, and the GPO as it was then looked after everything, including the phone.
As to DIY well it is about 50 volt, so no big shocks, and it comes into the house as two wires, internet and cordless phones only need two wires, but older phones need to have a capacitor and resistor network to ring the phones bell, and the two wires much be right way around, unlike internet and cordless which don't seem to care.
What you should do is get your telecom provider to fit a master socket, this has a part which can be removed by the user, and internal hard wired phones connected to it, so if you have a fault you can remove this bit of the socket and test phone with all internal wiring disconnected, so you know if OpenReach fault or you wiring at fault.
Pre-internet and broad band I would have not worried about wiring my own extensions, but the phone wires are twisted together, and the rate of twist is important to get full internet speed, so DIY wiring works A1 for the phone, but internet and fax it needs more care, not that we see much of the 19th century fax any more, it is still used by some people as caller ID means you can know who has sent it, more secure than email. But not as good as teletext.
Today it seems we are moving to fibre, and the hard wired telephone is for the museum, the big problem is a power cut can mean no phone, even having a battery back up in the home does not help, as need power to boxes in the street.
Many around here are giving up with land lines, seems cheaper not to have one, but it depends on your skill as to if you can DIY, personally I now have one telephone socket, and all cordless phones, and router next to socket, in the past I had wires all over the house to work the fax and telephones, but things have moved on, no need today to listen to see if neighbour on the phone, and if not press the party line button.
I must be getting old, I have used the phones with handles you had to turn to make them ring, and number of times you turned it told people who you wanted. And high winds they stopped working.
As to DIY well it is about 50 volt, so no big shocks, and it comes into the house as two wires, internet and cordless phones only need two wires, but older phones need to have a capacitor and resistor network to ring the phones bell, and the two wires much be right way around, unlike internet and cordless which don't seem to care.
What you should do is get your telecom provider to fit a master socket, this has a part which can be removed by the user, and internal hard wired phones connected to it, so if you have a fault you can remove this bit of the socket and test phone with all internal wiring disconnected, so you know if OpenReach fault or you wiring at fault.
Pre-internet and broad band I would have not worried about wiring my own extensions, but the phone wires are twisted together, and the rate of twist is important to get full internet speed, so DIY wiring works A1 for the phone, but internet and fax it needs more care, not that we see much of the 19th century fax any more, it is still used by some people as caller ID means you can know who has sent it, more secure than email. But not as good as teletext.
Today it seems we are moving to fibre, and the hard wired telephone is for the museum, the big problem is a power cut can mean no phone, even having a battery back up in the home does not help, as need power to boxes in the street.
Many around here are giving up with land lines, seems cheaper not to have one, but it depends on your skill as to if you can DIY, personally I now have one telephone socket, and all cordless phones, and router next to socket, in the past I had wires all over the house to work the fax and telephones, but things have moved on, no need today to listen to see if neighbour on the phone, and if not press the party line button.
I must be getting old, I have used the phones with handles you had to turn to make them ring, and number of times you turned it told people who you wanted. And high winds they stopped working.
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With VDSL the copper path for voice goes all the way to the exchange, even if the "internet" is happening in a cabinet in your neighbourhood. So you can still use a POTS phone even if the cabinet doesn't have power. But you'll have no internet.
BT (Openreach) are deploying a "passive optical network", the passive bit meaning no active [powered] equipment between you and the exchange [much cheaper and more efficient to operate]. No POTS service though, so you'll definitely need battery backup of your own if you want to use the internet during a power cut.
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VDSL will be ended by end of 2025 (or should be) - HMG edict. The replacement PON (FTTP) networks are being rushed in by more than OpenReach - where I live we have a BT PON system, which is working (450MBts down/80 up) but costing circa £50 a month - actually slightly cheaper than the VDSL system I was on previously.
Where the family live (presently FTTC) the PON networks are being 'installed' by GigaClear (with HMG money) , supposedly cheaper until you read the small print - the transmission rates are throttled down to make the system look cheaper, (200Mbts Downlink) for £17 but the 'phone is in addition. Also they don't seem to want to be 'helpful' on where the customers kit is installed.
It will be interesting to see what happens as the family are unlikely to leap to an unknown company for service.
I don't think this is correct. PSTN is being ended by the end of 2025. Internet will still be delivered by VDSL (SOGEA) after that time, albeit without the PSTN service. This will still be copper pair to street cabinet DSLAM then fiber to exchange. Landline phone if required will be provided by VOIP from the ISP router. Obviously the FTTP rollout is happening, but this will not be completed by 2025. FTTP replaces the FTTC VDSL.
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There is no way that fibre will replace it all within two years.
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The rate the funded companies are chucking it in they are having a b****y good try.
Will it last is different question.
Will it last is different question.
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