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Question about physical phone line connections (outside)

deadkenny
Rising Star
Posts: 257
Thanks: 2
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎13-09-2007

Question about physical phone line connections (outside)

Maybe a bit irrelevant to PlusNet, but I'm trying to diagnose issues I have with occasional disconnections.
Note that I currently have a BT line and I'm with PlusNet but used to be with NTL, which is kind of what my question is about (more on this below).
I've had this on and off for years where occasionally the (BT) line will drop and broadband goes down. Getting it back is usually achieved by making a call in or out on the phone (usually there is crackling on the line when I pick up the phone and it clears when making a call). Whenever I raise it with BT I have to jump through a lot of hoops to prove it's not my internal wiring (yeah, I've done all the tests from the master socket etc), and usually end up getting no where (e.g. they call when I'm at work asking for me to check again, and I say I can't because I'm at work, so they close the call as fixed! :().
Anyway, the question I have relates to my connection dropping yesterday, and when I called home from work I got someone else's line!. Odd I thought and tried again a few times then got to my home line and my broadband came back up (I have a web/mail server so I can check it's up). Got home and noticed the grey box from NTL/Virgin sitting outside the house has been repaired as it was bust open recently.
At this stage I should add my situation is a little complicated. I live in a 1st floor flat in a converted house and I used to be with NTL, but long sinced ditched it for BT. Now my BT line I understand comes via the overhead cable into the house and not via the grey box outside from underground (that has NTL written all over it). The BT socket is entirely separate from the old NTL socket also, and the NTL socket is dead. The downstairs flat still has NTL/Virgin however.
So... with this in mind, could there be a connection between NTL/Virgin messing with the box outside and my BT line going tits up?
Do BT and cable companies share a connection box in the road? I thought they were entirely separate.
Another point though is my BT phone number was actually ported over from NTL. Could this mean NTL/Virgin can still mess with my line somehow?
In other words, can I still continue to blame NTL/Virgin for my hassles (as they've been immense hassle over the years which is why I quit and went BT & PlusNet)?  Grin
Problem is, since yesterday my line's been dropping a fair amount and I wonder whether they've upset something. Usually it's only once every few weeks and easily cleared.
2 REPLIES 2
HPsauce
Pro
Posts: 6,998
Thanks: 146
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Registered: ‎02-02-2008

Re: Question about physical phone line connections (outside)

The cable connections are fibre optic and absolutely totally separate from anything BT provide.
deadkenny
Rising Star
Posts: 257
Thanks: 2
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎13-09-2007

Re: Question about physical phone line connections (outside)

The cable NTL/Virgin use is only fibre up to a point. The actual phone wire coming into the house and from the box down the road is standard BT style copper. Comes in together with a separate cable that's coax for TV and broadband (there are two NTL wires running up my outside wall in fact, one copper, one coax). I know this having seen NTL engineers many times messing with my old connection, and also inside the little grey box outside on the wall it's just coax and copper cables pulled from the hole in the ground).
[Moderator's note by Peter (PJ): Please do not quote the previous post in full, as per the link:rules]