Equipment Falling Off Telephone Poles

[wn1fju]

Over one month ago, I noticed a piece of equipment dangling from the telephone pole wires in my neighborhood.  Looks to be some sort of fiber optic node.  I can't imagine it is supposed to hang like that.  We have both Comcast and Verizon services locally, so I first called Comcast to report it.  The customer service representative didn't understand anything I was saying and I had to spell the address about 6 times - I still don't think she got it.  But she said she would "report it to her supervisor."  I waited a week, then called Verizon.  Verizon actually sent someone out to look, but they called and said, "it isn't our equipment - try Comcast."  I then sent a photo to our County's Office of Cable and Broadband Services.  They sent out an inspector who I was told sent a repair order to Comcast.

It has now been almost one month and the thing is still dangling right over a sidewalk in front of an elementary school.  I guess we will have to wait until it falls down and hurts/kills someone.

Nice to see that nobody really gives a damn.

[magic]

Cut it and they will dispatch a tech right away

The customer service representative didn't understand anything I was saying and I had to spell the address about 6 times - I still don't think she got it.  But she said she would "report it to her supervisor."

[richard.cs]

Reach up and chop it off? Possibly with the aid of a small step of steps or a tree pruner. If it was doing anything important they'll come out and replace it, if not problem solved. 

[james_s]

I've seen those things but never investigated too closely to determine what they are, I suspect it's a junction box for cable TV or copper phone lines. It looks like it's only got one cable going into it so it's entirely possible that it's abandoned and not doing anything. I wouldn't be too worried about it dropping off, I doubt it weighs a lot and it looks to be securely attached to the cable it's dangling from.

I suppose you could use one of those extendable tree pruners to snip if off and then do a teardown to see exactly what it is.

[magic]

Don't forget to upload pics to EEVBlog forum from your home IP address

[SpecialK]

Call City Hall, or Town Hall.  Report it as a sidewalk safety issue. Because it is.  It's their job to keep the community safe.

[Yansi]

Funny stuff those American wires  (even HT) on poles in residential areas...

[james_s]

Funny stuff those American wires  (even HT) on poles in residential areas...

Funny stuff those Europeans and others who don't mind paying 3-4 times as much per kWh for electricity as we do...

Underground wiring is far more expensive to install or maintain, it's used in cities and most residential neighborhoods built in the past 40 years or so but there is still a lot of older infrastructure around and nobody wants to spend billions of dollars to replace stuff that works. I doubt most people even notice the wires, they've always been there and there are much higher priorities than replacing millions of kms of working wiring for purely cosmetic reasons.

[Yansi]

Can't argue about prices, but the price we pay is also for much higher reliability of our infrastructure. 

But I'd suggest not make this another US vs EU thread. I was just commenting, that it is funny, because US wiring is just a poorly maintained mess in our point of view. And I am not clearly complaining about the price we pay for energy, TV, internet, phone or what. Everything comes at a price.

[Wolfram]

Funny stuff those American wires  (even HT) on poles in residential areas...

Funny stuff those Europeans and others who don't mind paying 3-4 times as much per kWh for electricity as we do...

In Norway we have mostly underground regional HV distribution, and very low population density. I pay around 3 cents a kilowatt-hour for the infrastructure, 3 cents of taxes, and one cent for the actual electricity, for a total of around seven cents a kilowatt-hour. Infrastructure costs dominate here, but they still only account for three cents a kilowatt-hour.

Electricity prices are significantly higher in other European countries, but this is not due to infrastructure costs.

[amyk]

Put a sign directly under it, with a big arrow pointing up and text saying "LOOK OUT!"

[xrunner]

Over one month ago, I noticed a piece of equipment dangling from the telephone pole wires in my neighborhood.  Looks to be some sort of fiber optic node.

Might try the fire dept. Tell them you are concerned about public safety. They will come and inspect it, I assure you.

[0culus]

Over one month ago, I noticed a piece of equipment dangling from the telephone pole wires in my neighborhood.  Looks to be some sort of fiber optic node.  I can't imagine it is supposed to hang like that.  We have both Comcast and Verizon services locally, so I first called Comcast to report it.  The customer service representative didn't understand anything I was saying and I had to spell the address about 6 times - I still don't think she got it.  But she said she would "report it to her supervisor."  I waited a week, then called Verizon.  Verizon actually sent someone out to look, but they called and said, "it isn't our equipment - try Comcast."  I then sent a photo to our County's Office of Cable and Broadband Services.  They sent out an inspector who I was told sent a repair order to Comcast.

It has now been almost one month and the thing is still dangling right over a sidewalk in front of an elementary school.  I guess we will have to wait until it falls down and hurts/kills someone.

Nice to see that nobody really gives a damn.

With comcast you *have* insist that the first level CSRs transfer you...then you will get someone who isn't ESL and might actually know what the hell they are doing.

[Red Squirrel]

Cut it and send it in to mailbag for a teardown. 

Actually I see those in my area too, and I don't believe they are the telco's but the cable company's so I'm guessing something to do with coax, but maybe fibre.  They appear to have an antenna so I imagine they are some kind of active equipment that they can remote into from their truck.  I don't know how it would be powered though.    Sometimes telcos will have equipment on poles but they usually have a hydro meter and service going to it. 

Speaking of equipment falling off poles, I got a call for this once, I had to go check it out after my shift because the idea was pretty hilarious when they described it to me on the phone. 


 

[Ground_Loop]

Cut it and they will dispatch a tech right away

The customer service representative didn't understand anything I was saying and I had to spell the address about 6 times - I still don't think she got it.  But she said she would "report it to her supervisor."

I know this as a fact. I had a line hanging across my driveway at windshield
height for over three months trying to convince Comcast to send their construction guys out to fix it. A tree fell on it and ripped the attachments off the pole. All they wanted to do was set up an appointment with me for service. Nothing I could say would convince them I did not need to home for them to look at it. . . Until I cut it. I guess it took out half the neighborhood. They were working on it two days later. No one asked but I was ready to claim it hung on my truck as I drove under it.

Tell Comcast it is a safety hazzard and you have asked news media to come have a look.

[cgroen]

Its a "5G/Corona Weapon/Mind Control" device. It just recently stopped working, and that's why it suddenly has become visible. Its been there all the time, but when it was working, it manipulated everyone's mind to think it was not there.
Seriously, call the fire department (or the local newspaper and tell them a disaster is waiting to happen).

[tooki]

Funny stuff those American wires  (even HT) on poles in residential areas...

Funny stuff those Europeans and others who don't mind paying 3-4 times as much per kWh for electricity as we do...

Underground wiring is far more expensive to install or maintain, it's used in cities and most residential neighborhoods built in the past 40 years or so but there is still a lot of older infrastructure around and nobody wants to spend billions of dollars to replace stuff that works. I doubt most people even notice the wires, they've always been there and there are much higher priorities than replacing millions of kms of working wiring for purely cosmetic reasons.

Balderdash.

The average kWh price here in Switzerland is just over 20¢, vs just over 13¢ in USA. I think that's an eminently reasonable price in a country where low wage earners make three times as much money as in USA. It's certainly not the hyperbolic "3-4 times" you claim.

And "cosmetic reasons" aren't why people prefer underground wiring. You claim it's far more expensive to install and maintain. But while the installation costs more, maintenance costs are lower, as the wiring is not subject to damage the way above-ground wiring is. Having lived on the east coast of the USA for many, many years, partly at the edge of hurricane alley, partly squarely within it, it boggles my mind that USA continues to use above-ground wiring in hurricane-prone areas, running along heavily-forested roads, inevitably resulting in power outages every damned summer, affecting hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses each time. (And in winter when ice brings down wires.) Doing emergency repairs isn't free, and the lost inventory and lost productivity isn't free, either.

[wn1fju]

Thanks to all for the replies.  The consensus seems to be for me to cut it down, although I am a bit too timid to try that (and it is in plain view from a dozen houses, so I might be caught!).

The official word from our County officials was:  "Our County Inspector was out there on Wednesday, October 28th to inspect the complaint.  The violation was reported to Comcast on that same day.  Comcast has 45 days to repair violations that the County reports to them, typically the work is completed within a 30 day window by Comcast.  We will monitor the progress to make sure it gets completed."

So I guess I really can't complain too much yet until the 45 day window has elapsed.  Then it will be time to call the media, congress-person, fire, police, or what have you.   

[Yansi]

Why are you so much afraid of that thing hanging there? It seems it is almost harmless, won't fall down any time soon and you act like some kind of justice warrior. So much anger, phone calls .. for just a piece of shit hanging down.

Seriously a question - why are you so much bothered by that thing? 

[wn1fju]

To Yansi:  You don't know it won't fall down any time soon and neither do I.  Nor do you know whether the thing weighs one pound or fifty pounds.  I would be happy to temper my "anger" if someone in an official capacity could offer an assurance that it is harmless.

I thought it was my civic duty to report a potential safety problem.  The world would be a better place if more people acted responsibly like that, rather than to insult me as being "some kind of justice warrior."

[Yansi]

Okay, good you have the energy to fight then. I kind of resigned on some stuff in the world we live in.

I think both you and me know well (or at least now you know), that nobody gives a damn about that hanging thing, unless it indeed makes a trouble somewhere. Either by injury, property damage or service dropout (that will cause a potential money loss).

In an ideal world, a technician would be dispatched for a repair immediately. 

[Halcyon]

Nice to see that nobody really gives a damn.

Does it really matter if it's not impacting you/anyone? Someone will come along eventually and fix it up.

[SpecialK]

Honestly, if you see something, say something.  Why all the apathy?  Isn't there some sort of "social contract", "sense of community", "it takes a village to raise a child", "civic obligation" or some sort notion.

Just report it to "town hall".  Whoever you pay your property taxes to.  It's their responsibility for the sidewalk to be safe.  If there's a tree branch in the way, they will trim it(if it's in their road allowance) or give the property owner a citation.warning.  Same here, they will get the utility to comply and have this taken care of.

[SilverSolder]

[...] Having lived on the east coast of the USA for many, many years, partly at the edge of hurricane alley, partly squarely within it, it boggles my mind that USA continues to use above-ground wiring in hurricane-prone areas, running along heavily-forested roads, inevitably resulting in power outages every damned summer, affecting hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses each time. (And in winter when ice brings down wires.) Doing emergency repairs isn't free, and the lost inventory and lost productivity isn't free, either.

I think this happens when it is cheaper to pay the wages & materials to fix the damage than it is to bury the cables.  Then there is the general inertia and "we've always done it this way" syndrome of large organisations (utilities, and governments).

Times are changing, though - it is gradually getting more expensive to keep fixing the damage, and Americans are beginning to understand that the utilities have externalised the cost of power interruptions - on them!   I know a local government official (that happens to have an engineering background) and he is constantly fighting for getting cables buried. 

It will happen, eventually, but it may take several decades....   but who knows, maybe there will be a big infrastructure investment programme in the USA (i.e. think about how China would do it) and all these things will be put right more quickly, along with brand new Internet infrastructure as well...

[vk6zgo]

Okay, good you have the energy to fight then. I kind of resigned on some stuff in the world we live in.

I think both you and me know well (or at least now you know), that nobody gives a damn about that hanging thing, unless it indeed makes a trouble somewhere. Either by injury, property damage or service dropout (that will cause a potential money loss).

In an ideal world, a technician would be dispatched for a repair immediately.

They don't have real technicians in Bizarro world where we live today.
Next door had a bad lead in cable from the Telstra cable pit, interrupting their ADSL, which one of the family needed for work, so they "growled" a bit, expecting nothing.

"Lo & behold!", along came a couple of Telstra blokes who, with my permission, ran a cable out of the pit, over my roof, & down to the neighbour's house.

Clever short term "workaround", thought I, but the thing ended up staying there for 18 months or more!

One downside of running the cable in that manner was that the gardeners would clip the wire, thinking it was a vine stem.
They had a couple of faults from that, but none of the "techs" thought it might be a good time to run another proper cable.