New telephone line

archess200

How do I get a new line put in to a new house? I am moving into an empty house that does have an old telephone line which has not been used for years, but I want it moved. Is it better to inadvertently disconnect this and get a new connection, or to have this moved? I prefer to put it undergound. How do I go about getting a new line installed, anyway. The Openreach website is wholly un=userfriendly and I cannot find my way into order up a new line section. Help.

Ian011

Sign up with BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin or whoever, and they then organise the line, connection and activation.

victor2

If an existing line is physically there, they may try to use that for a new install - beats running a new one!
Unless the existing lines to surrounding houses are underground already, I would think it's doubtful you'll get an underground one put in, unless of course you go for a cable (FTTC) service such as Virgin or BT Infinity.

JJ_Egan

(he Openreach website is wholly un=userfriendly and I cannot find my way into order up a new line section.)

Its not a company that deals with the public .
You go via a telecoms supplier .

diamonds

If the line has not been connected for many years it can show as no line present, after 16 years with numerous cable companies buy outs upto Virgin Media, I connected the line to Sky on the June £5.35 for the year deal. The third party engineer came out thinking no line ever existed and was away to cancel for a garden dig up appointment, I showed him the junction box in the grass and wire coming in where the first cable company removed the master socket and fitted it to their line.


He simply put a master socket on that line and went to the street box and fiddled about for 30 mins until he found the live line from the house to the street box, phone and broadband connected.


On a install you can ask the engineer for moving the master, ie many are not near a electrical outlet as we always did not have cordless phones nor answering machines and most recently modems.



As for running the Openreach cable underground, a site assessment would take place.



Do a online order, then call the provider whocan place a note on the BT Openreach order, you cannot do such as a end consumer.

rusty_f

If Openreach find a line that exists to the property, they will use it. I know that Sky specifically will take what Openreach tell them, and will convert any order place to a line activation.. You could cut the line yourself, but you'll find that you will go live with no active service and then will have to raise a fault with Sky which will result in an engineer visit. If they do visit, they may reuse the line by adding a new socket to the existing line.

You need to ask for a forced new line provide - not every company will do it, but I think BT will do it if you ask them, but it may be at an extra charge. I know for a fact that Sky won't do that, unless things have changed very recently (I used to work for them)

onomatopoeia99

Taking over an existing line always used to be a good deal cheaper than getting a new one installed. Even if you order a "new" line, there may not be any new cable laid as the dropwire from the pole typically has two pairs so can support two lines before anything new is needed.

I cannot see Openreach installing a line underground if there's a pole on the street, and it is illegal to tamper with the line up to the master socket, whether you do it "inadvertantly" or not.

boliston

They will probably just "DACS off" (split) the existing line which would be really bad news if you wanted to use the line for any sort of internet connection.