Cable line???????????

[jonesyonline]

i have just moved into a rental property and wished to set up broadband/phone etc. rang BT and they said the line at the property was not via them but is a cable line!! I have phoned the Virgin and Talk Talk and they said they are not the providers.
How can i find out who the cable provider is?????

[Ethel]

Unless you are in Hull it is definitely Virgin - they are the only providers of cable phone.

[jonesyonline]

Strange....i have phoned them twice and it is definitely not them, if i did have cable with them they would offer me broadband!! oh and i don't live in Hull lol

[Ethel]

Contact the landlord or agent.

[jonesyonline]

I am trying, thanks for replying!!

[Ethel]

Let us know the outcome - I'm intrigued. :)

[jonesyonline]

lol will do, left landlady a message to get back to me.
i'm just trying to avoid paying the 130 quid reconnection charge by BT but if they say its a cable line then it should be with some company.

[4candles]

If the line exists, albeit inactive, presumably there is a connection box or master socket or something on the wall or skirting board. Is there any kind of marking or symbol on it?

[jonesyonline]

yes it says BT!!! plugged a phone in and no tone. BT insist it isn't their line. Im gowing suspiscious that it is their line and they will come out flick a switch and charge me for reconnection!!!

[Ethel]

Oh!

So, is there an live telephone line or not?

[jonesyonline]

No there is no tone like i said. I phone BT and they say its not a BT line but a cable line with another provider.

[4candles]

I'm confused now!

If it's a BT line (even if the rental was paid to Talk Talk, Post Office, Plusnet etc), it could be fed with a dropwire from a pole, or direct underground.

But, if it's cable, it can only be Virgin, unless maybe it's an old NTL or Telewest line that was ceased before the three companies merged into Virgin, in which case perhaps Virgin would now have no record of it. Whatever, it would be directly underground fed.

So, do you have a dropwire, and if so can you trace the wiring to this BT socket?

[jonesyonline]

ok im confused.....but will look for this drop wire tonight.
spoke to my land lady, when she lived there she had a BT line but is unsure what the previous tennants had - so there has been one in the past.
i am seriously thinking BT are just trying to get a reconnection charge out of me.

[buildersmate]

Pardon me for butting in, but doesn't it work like this?
There are only two providers of the wire that goes from your house - a cable provider (now only Virgin) and BT. We've established beyond reasonable doubt that the wire is connected (or was connected) to BT, not cable.
Once at the local exchange, the process called local loop unbundling or some other confusing name forced BT to allow other phone providers to be able to provide phone lines, which they do - into the local exchange. The local loop - the last few miles from your house to the exchange is still provided by BT under these circumstances, but BT are not your service provider (and presumably correctly deny being your provider.)

[jonesyonline]

so back to BT to re-connect line??

[buildersmate]

That's what I'm unsure about.
More on LLU here - just background, but I'm pretty sure its what the previous user of this line had.
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/oftel/p ublications/broadband/dsl_facts/LLUbackground. htm
When the service got canned, BT would have taken the line off but the wiring remains of course.
When you want the line back, BT are cagey about if charges apply - see here.
http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumer Products/displayCategory.do?categoryId=CON-PHN -LN-R1&s_cid=con_FURL_calls_newline#reconnect
If you are planning to using BT for your phone service, I suspect that no charge will apply - if you are thinking pof using Tiscali, TalkTalk or one of the others, I can't think it is in BT's interests not to charge you.
This is just a hunch - perhaps someone else can confirm?

[jonesyonline]

I really didn't mind going with BT for line rental etc and was going to look at their offers for broadband. they told me before there was a connection charge of 124.99. They expect you under normal circumstances anyway to choose a call plan, sign up and then they will inform you if a re-connection charge is applicable.

[ACtheTROLL]

4 ... technical terms ... dropwire .... t2a?

joost a minute
I have chums who change their provider every other week ...
bt, ntl, orange, bt, talk talk (I think that's the order)
they have 2 nte5s on the skirting ... 1 says bt (this one is the worker at the moment) ... the other is just blank. .... but the line is terminated in there to a thin jumper going back to the BT box - what you don't see is that there is also a cable that comes in through the cellar and appears behind the telly. (now bunged back down the hole and tacked to a rafter (the side you can't see without a torch.

in the meantime they white washed said cellar and it's almost impossible to see any cables.

I think it's talk talk this week ...
but I know what the situation is and spent ages trying to find which was a worker

in rented accomodation - just because you've found A box - it doesn't mean it's the ONLY box

if there is another cable ... it could be anywhere.

I'd start outside and look for overhead (bt) and underground (cable?) feeds

hope this makes things clearer [;-O

I don't envy you

[jonesyonline]

thanks, i will try all this.
just found out the Post Office offer will re-connect for �10 cheaper than BT so they don't have a complete monoply on the industry.
I have only found one box, strangely though it is upstairs in back bedroom so maybe your right that there are other hidden lines.

[Ethel]

May I have a link to the Post Office re-connect service, please?