Telephone Land Line Removal?

[Beemer]

Been painting around an old telephone junction box and lines on our house that was disconnected long ago.
The original company has changed hands twice so there is no account/service records with the current one and asking them the following question didn't get a straight answer: "Is it ok to just cut the wires outside and on our house?"
I wasn't sure if there would be any issue to possible other users at other houses. I doubt that there are any but it's worth researching first.
Also I wasn't sure of the lines carried any voltage so again what possible effect on others. I seem to recall the phones operated off a low voltage that mush have come in on the lines.

 

[PCustoms]

Mines been cut, ripped and torn up in various ways over the past 8yrs.

No issues I'm aware of.

 

[Ing3018]

You could check for voltage on the old phone lines. Mine are dead and are likely disconnected at the phone company's riser box out by the road. I taped mine off and disconnected them in the event there should be future lightning strike nearby.

 

[Firebrick43]

In 2016 about the same time as pcustoms I found my landline with an excavator. If the phone company did anything in the junction post at the road I don’t know but I have never seen them out there. We haven’t had their service since 2012

They won’t even fix or run a new physical line. They give the neighbor what looks like a late 90’s cordless phone set but the base not only has an antenna for the handset but a second one for the cell tower but emulated the functionality of a landline.

 

[walta]

If the lines are active 48 volts DC or so with very little current flow if shorted, so cut away.

The problem with cutting the overhead wires from the pole to the house is you can’t clime the pole and cut the other end so you have a wire hanging down the pole. If you tied it to a tractor (LOL) then you could mess up other circuits and short of that you will not pull it down.

Note if the line happened to be ringing and you were to touch the wire at that moment you would get high voltage AC. It would not kill you but you would remember that moment.

Walta

 

[The Cobbler]

It's been 2 hrs, is it off yet?

 

[Beemer]

If the lines are active 48 volts DC or so with very little current flow if shorted, so cut away.

The problem with cutting the overhead wires from the pole to the house is you can’t clime the pole and cut the other end so you have a wire hanging down the pole. If you tied it to a tractor (LOL) then you could mess up other circuits and short of that you will not pull it down.

Note if the line happened to be ringing and you were to touch the wire at that moment you would get high voltage AC. It would not kill you but you would remember that moment.

Walta

I didn't intend to cut the line from the pole to the house because it crosses the road but want the drop on the face of our house off. There is a hook on the house at the transition that would hold the run to the street in place.

I don't know why it would be ringing because the account was closed at least 10 years ago when the company changed hands the last time.
Someone did mention testing the line voltage which is a good idea.

 

[Beemer]

You could check for voltage on the old phone lines. Mine are dead and are likely disconnected at the phone company's riser box out by the road. I taped mine off and disconnected them in the event there should be future lightning strike nearby.

Good point on lightening because one of the lines from the telephone box into the house is a ground to our main ground rod.

 

[Beemer]

It's been 2 hrs, is it off yet?

I tend to avoid ladders in the dark.

 

[dave*99]

My landline is wrapped around the pole and tied in a knot. It hasn't been connected to the house for years.

 

[walta]

The note about it ringing was not necessarily for you just a bit of info.

sound like a good plan.

Walta

 

[JMLangford]

AT&T just came out yesterday and removed the line from the street to the pole in the backyard and from there to the house.
We haven't had a land line for nearly 25 years or so, and they're just now coming around and reclaiming their wiring.
AT&T guy snipped the wire and rolled it up and put it in the back of his boom truck!
I guess they're going to sell the copper wire to recoup some money from the loss of landlines?


.

 

[The Cobbler]

I guess they're going to sell the copper wire to recoup some money from the loss of landlines?


.

maybe more the case of no liability with no cable .

 

[FTWingRiders]

Cut and Dropped an old unused line at my old house 20 years ago and coiled it up at the bottom of the telephone pole. A couple month later they were driving by and took care of it without a word.

 

[Beemer]

AT&T just came out yesterday and removed the line from the street to the pole in the backyard and from there to the house.
We haven't had a land line for nearly 25 years or so, and they're just now coming around and reclaiming their wiring.
AT&T guy snipped the wire and rolled it up and put it in the back of his boom truck!
I guess they're going to sell the copper wire to recoup some money from the loss of landlines?


.

Frontier took over ATT's phone business here. Wish I could call ATT.

 

[BrandonV]

We used to have all sorts of people cut up the telephone drop wire. No harm. "Wind" knocked it down.

Most telcos are a PITA to have the drop removed at the distribution box.

 

[ambenz]

AT&T just ran fiber optic cable to my home for free and internet service free for a month, yay!
I helped pull the cable with the old phone line as a leader through the underground pipe I ran back in 2001.
So any future landline will likely be internet based through the fiber optic cable and no issues with lightening hitting the defunct terminal block in the basement.

 

[nadogail]

I still have the Landline Telephone with Station Battery. In the event of a power outage wireless telephones and internet will be out of service, but POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service, will keep on working.

 

[AA/FC]

I was returning a rented internet modem back to the Xfinity/Comcast store near my house and the guy (kid) working the counter asked me who I was using for home telephone service. I said, "we still have an old land line from the phone company (which we don't, but I didn't want him trying to sell me phone service) and he said.... and I quote.... "well, we ARE the phone company and I don't see phone service on your account". lolol. I said, "No, you're the cable TV company who also sells VOIP service. I'm talking about the ACTUAL phone company that has been around for 100 years, and LONG before your company was ever created. I have a dedicated telephone line running to my house right next to the cable TV line that also runs to my house."

He looked at me like I had two heads. He had no idea what I was talking about. lol

 

[kbeefy]

I cut all the phone/satellite/cable/antennae wires off our house when we moved in.
There are still random outlets scattered around the house, when younger people notice them they ask what they were for.
We also have a whole house intercom... I kinda want to fix it.

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

I still have the Landline Telephone with Station Battery. In the event of a power outage wireless telephones and internet will be out of service, but POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service, will keep on working.

Who would you call? Everyone except you would be on VOIP and cell and would be out of service.

 

[gungatim]

I wish I could get our phone company to come out and fix the lines. The telephone pole on my property rotted out and the wind blew it down 4 months ago. The line has been laying on the ground and shredded except for the steel core since then and they refuse to do anything about it.

 

[Beemer]

As a side note, we have OOMA telephone that uses our internet service. After buying the unit for a hundred bucks or so the service is about $5/month (basically tax) with an option for upgraded features for about $10 more a month.
By comparison a relative's basic land line was near $50/month.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Been painting around an old telephone junction box and lines on our house that was disconnected long ago.
The original company has changed hands twice so there is no account/service records with the current one and asking them the following question didn't get a straight answer: "Is it ok to just cut the wires outside and on our house?"

Yes !

I complained to the phone company that my unused wire was resting on the roof of my garage. They sent a person out who tightened the wire. "I am not authorized to remove it !"

Same for unused cable Internet/TV wire. Cut at the house. Remove junction box. Get a step ladder and cut as high up as possible next to the pole.

AT&T has MILLIONS of $$ (maybe even billions) of unused copper hanging on poles around the US. Useless ! Too expensive to remove.

 

[tarmy]

Frontier took over ATT's phone business here. Wish I could call ATT.

Frontier is the worst aholes ever.

We bought a place up in the sticks and inherited the service. After about a year, I wanted to drop there service and get rid of the overhead line.

After 2 hours on the phone to them….finally got service stopped. They have this very obviously painful long process to drop service. Clearly designed to get you to NOT stop service. They must have asked 5-7 times if I was sure.

i asked them to come out and get their stuff and remove the line. They said no thanks and siad I was on my own. Their line, house box and any sign of their existence on my place was gone within an hour. I cut their line hanging down , at this point, from the neighbors pole from my on top of my 6’ step ladder.

it hung their for about 10 years…

 

[wyliesdiesels]

test line for voltage in case its still connected to switch in CO

if no voltage then cut it

 

[reader2580]

I removed the telephone box from my house right after I bought the house. The box was all busted up. Someone wanted access to the ”locked” portion of the box and pried it open. No issues I am aware of with cutting the line off underground.

 

[75gmck25]

Many years ago I used to work on POTS telephone systems.
The standing voltage on a phone line is 48 volts from the central office, but it drops to about 9 volts when you take a phone off the hook. You usually can't even feel it with your fingers. When it rings you will get about 90 volts, but it's intermittent (the ring), and it's only enough amps operate the ringer. I've had hold of the line multiple times when a ring comes in, and it will definitely get your attention, but will not hurt you.

Back in the day of planning for emergency situations, the advantage of AT&T POTS service was that the central office had huge backup battery systems, along with backup generators. Even if all the power in the area was out, your home phone still usually worked. Very nice to have in an emergency. All of these systems were built in an era where the land-line telephone was considered an essential service, so it had to be reliable.

 

[BrandonV]

Many years ago I used to work on POTS telephone systems.
The standing voltage on a phone line is 48 volts from the central office, but it drops to about 9 volts when you take a phone off the hook. You usually can't even feel it with your fingers. When it rings you will get about 90 volts, but it's intermittent (the ring), and it's only enough amps operate the ringer. I've had hold of the line multiple times when a ring comes in, and it will definitely get your attention, but will not hurt you.

Back in the day of planning for emergency situations, the advantage of AT&T POTS service was that the central office had huge backup battery systems, along with backup generators. Even if all the power in the area was out, your home phone still usually worked. Very nice to have in an emergency. All of these systems were built in an era where the land-line telephone was considered an essential service, so it had to be reliable.

Unfortunately, nowadays, if you have POTS service, you're likely connected through a subscriber loop carrier in your neighborhood rather than directly from the central office. The reliability is much lower than it used to be.

 

[zendriver]

AT&T just came out yesterday and removed the line from the street to the pole in the backyard and from there to the house.
We haven't had a land line for nearly 25 years or so, and they're just now coming around and reclaiming their wiring.
AT&T guy snipped the wire and rolled it up and put it in the back of his boom truck!
I guess they're going to sell the copper wire to recoup some money from the loss of landlines?


.

The copper value might not even cover the cost of the workers removing it.

 

[zendriver]

Back in the day of planning for emergency situations, the advantage of AT&T POTS service was that the central office had huge backup battery systems, along with backup generators. Even if all the power in the area was out, your home phone still usually worked. Very nice to have in an emergency. All of these systems were built in an era where the land-line telephone was considered an essential service, so it had to be reliable.

Cell towers I see have backup generators Cell phones can usually be recharged somewhere.

 

[PCustoms]

Cell towers I see have backup generators Cell phones can usually be recharged somewhere.

My cell actually gets better signal at home when the power goes out.

Must be less interference?

 

[Skellyii]

About a month ago I noticed that one of the cable/telco/ boxes on the side of the house was missing. When we moved in a year and a half ago we had a new fiber line trenched in, so all those boxes were from previous owners.

I assumed that it had just fallen off, then I noticed that one of my neighbors boxes was missing as well.
I guess the company came out an took back their boxes.

 

[BrandonV]

About a month ago I noticed that one of the cable/telco/ boxes on the side of the house was missing. When we moved in a year and a half ago we had a new fiber line trenched in, so all those boxes were from previous owners.

I assumed that it had just fallen off, then I noticed that one of my neighbors boxes was missing as well.
I guess the company came out an took back their boxes.

Now with the FCC mandate to get rid of analog telephone service if you don't have DSL (or from the telco perspective don't offer it) no need for the lines or the boxes.

 

[reader2580]

Unfortunately, nowadays, if you have POTS service, you're likely connected through a subscriber loop carrier in your neighborhood rather than directly from the central office. The reliability is much lower than it used to be.

I've read that some phone companies have abandoned the big switches in the central office due to the cost of maintaining them for a shrinking customer base. They are using much smaller electronics that convert the analog over to SIP to send over an IP network.

 

[reader2580]

About a month ago I noticed that one of the cable/telco/ boxes on the side of the house was missing. When we moved in a year and a half ago we had a new fiber line trenched in, so all those boxes were from previous owners.

I assumed that it had just fallen off, then I noticed that one of my neighbors boxes was missing as well.
I guess the company came out an took back their boxes.

I wonder why they would spend the man power to remove the boxes? I can't imagine there is any value to the boxes.

My parents have a huge metal box about two feet wide and four feet tall from the phone company on the side of their house. It is a fifty line demarc from when my brother and I ran a BBS and ISP in the 90s from the basement. (We graduated to a real office with six total employees.) I told them to remove it when they had the house resided in 2006, but they didn't want to remove it. It looks ugly as sin. My parents also had their land line from Comcast by 2006.

 

[The Cobbler]

The copper value will not even cover the cost of the workers removing it.

fixed your quote LOL

 

[BrandonV]

I've read that some phone companies have abandoned the big switches in the central office due to the cost of maintaining them for a shrinking customer base. They are using much smaller electronics that convert the analog over to SIP to send over an IP network.

Yup. The biggest thing the FCC did when they killed POTS (or more correctly deregulated it) was allow the telcos to start charging costs that are more reflective of the actual cost of running the whole operation.

FCC insists that POTS wasn't killed... but you're not going to sit down and watch your bill increase 1000x fold and not evaluate new options.

 

[Metal-Marc]

I don't know why it would be ringing because the account was closed at least 10 years ago when the company changed hands the last time.

It could be one of those pesky telemarketers. They never give up.

Telephone tech here, just cut the line where you want and don't worry about it.

 

[Metal-Marc]

TEST line for voltage (in case its still connected to switch in CO)

IF no voltage THEN cut it ELSE cut it

Fixed.