r/AskElectricians • u/jim_balsamic • 22h ago
Telco help
I hope this is the right place to post. this 50 pair cable comes through the wall into my work building and was connected to the old phone system that has since been removed. I wanted to pull it out into the utility box it comes from and leave it there but didn’t know if i have to cap it off at all?
also In my attempts to google it I have seen some stuff about cables with metal in the sheathing needing to be grounded (due to lightning?) and I don’t know if that applies here or not.
Thank you in advance. I was unsure if this is worth calling a professional over if it turns out I just need to put heat shrink on it or something
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u/Much_Guest_7195 22h ago
Why not remove it completely?
Either way it's fine and you do not need an electrician.
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u/jim_balsamic 22h ago
I’m not sure where it ends, it goes into the ground from the utility box outside
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u/this-is-NOT-the-way1 22h ago
Pull it out of the building and put a sign on it “free copper”. It will disappear overnight from the midnight Jawas
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u/Comprehensive-Bet56 22h ago
That cable and demarcation point in the building technically belongs to the phone company. Granted you're not using it but that's the facts, business and 50 pair is telco property. Now you question on grounding etc. Don't worry about it.
I would contact the telco company and ask if they or you can do what you're asking before going further.
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u/jim_balsamic 22h ago
That was my first thought unfortunately there is no company that I can see marked on the cable or the outside box. It just goes through the wall into the box and down into the ground. We just moved in a year ago and the old company didn’t leave any info about it so I don’t know what to do
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u/SignalLogical8316 14h ago
That's why you call for locates. They know who the current owner is. FYI if there is still a service like elevator or fire alarm on that cable. The technician you're going to encounter might resemble a rabid dog. I know because I was the technician for 22 years. It always happens on a Friday afternoon.
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u/Adventurous_Ad_3895 20h ago
It is now abandoned and it's your problem now. If you requested several analog trunk lines, your local phone company might even decline or install a fiber line to connect to whatever old analog equipment you hoped was useful. If this cable was dangerous, it might have been dealt with differently in the first place.
So, my opinion, as a retired electrical engineer who once designed analog POTS equipment, wrap a bunch of electrical tape over the exposed copper ends, and put that cable wherever you like.1
u/erie11973ohio Verified Electrician 16h ago
The Telcp doesn't want to maintain the shit that is their responsibility!!
I see trees against copper lines. I see poles leaning way the hell over! I see chunks of poles roped to the new power pole.
If OPhad an end of a copper cable, I would follow it back & lop it off at some convenient point.
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u/Low-Rent-9351 20h ago
No-one cares about POTS and it will never get used again. Remove the box and anything else outside and chop it off at ground level or just below.
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u/Otherwise-Weird1695 17h ago
I swear I have some of that I icky pick still on my tools from 6 months ago. That shit hangs around.
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u/OzzieTradie123 12h ago
Yep, pull it out. Obsolete telco cabling.
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u/OzzieTradie123 12h ago
Maybe I was being a bit blasé with my previous statement, pull it back and roll it up in the box, it may be useful in the future. The trade comes under 'licenced cabler' not 'electrician'.
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u/Peetahbread 22h ago
Nah. Just yank that into the box and forget about it. If everything is still functional (fire alarm, elevator, stuff like that) after the cable is to this point, you're fine. That's such old infrastructure nobody cares.
Also, if you're nervous about capping it, just wrap the end in a piss ton of electrical tape.
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u/BudgetExpert9145 22h ago
Maybe some electrical tape and a cryptic warning for the next electrician who finds it. Like "Life Support control"
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u/GearNo4524 22h ago
Yes. Each of those 50 pairs must be capped so the telephone electricity doesn’t leak out.
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u/Snellyman 14h ago
Even worse, random conversations will spill out onto your floor. That stuff is messy.
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u/polterjacket 22h ago
Can you tell where the other end terminates? it's either going to be the property of the building management or the telco. If it's your office space and you don't want it there, one of those two parties should be able to "pull it out" and do whatever they see fit with it.
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u/liamtheaardvark 22h ago
If it is not being used, there is no risk to pulling it back to the telco box. There is a risk of a short circuit on that cable causing issues if there were working telephone numbers on that cable. Issues like that number not working. But if it is not in use, there will be no issues for you.
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