Phone line earth bonding

[mansea]

I'm looking at moving a main phone line point. It comes in from a telegraph pole, through the roof and it appears to be earth bonded onto a copper water pipe that feeds a header tank in the loft. Where I'm planning on moving it is no where near a suitable earth bond point without a much longer run of cable.

So my questions are:

1) Does anyone know if earth bonding is a legal, regulated or statutory requirement for incoming telecom lines?

2) Is there any safety implications fire/electrocution risk if it's not properly earth bonded?

3) Will the earth bonding have any protective effect from lightning for phones/broadband routers/plugged in devices etc?

4) What is the purpose of earth bonding phone lines if not already answered in my questions above?

My understanding is the current/voltage is so low in phone lines and my hunch is that earth bonding is an unnecessary or perhaps precautionary extra layer of safety, but I thought best to check the wisdom of others that may be more wiser and experienced first

Thanks in advance!

 

[Diver Fred]

Only earth needed in BT 'phone line to my knowledge is for shared service working.

As it is you shouldn't be moving the incoming line yourself.

Who is your service provider?

 

[mansea]

I actually dont use the landline, so I dont have a service provider, I'm doing some renovations in an old property and I thought just because I dont currently use the landline, the next people will likely want to, so I want to keep it and move the outlet myself to a more suitable location which would work better after the renovations.

If it makes a difference its only the 1 twisted pair wired in the outlet and its the only outlet in the property. Are there any experienced telecoms people on here that can confirm whether the earth bonding is a mandatory/necessary requirement please? If so, long earth bond run it will have to be. Thanks

 

[flameport]

Not required, and even if it was, it's not going to be connected to a random water pipe.

If you really must relocate it, then it's a single twisted pair to the master socket position.
A better option would be a duct or conduit to allow fibre to be pulled through, as the days of copper phone service are pretty much over.

 

[mansea]

Thanks yes was going to duct it as well before plastering over

And yes its a very old socket/cabling probably 60s/70s era, so would probably need to be replaced by bt when the phone line eventually gets reconnected probably to fibre to the premises as you say, but I wanted to move the outlet now, along with exisiting/prewiring mainly for future fishing purposes, rather than immediate use.

I just wanted to double check the bonding wasn't required and there aren't any safety or regulatory implications, or if its possibily intended to divert lightning off the overhead telegraph line. I'm thinking the copper pipes will be earthed/grounded somewhere at a lower level, otherwise it would be entirely pointless. But if it's not necessary, I'll go ahead and remove, much appreciated

 

[Diver Fred]

So do I understand that you do not have landline fed BroadBand?

Unless you have need to move the external fittings or about to move (before 2026) I'd not bother as by then everyone will have Fibre To The Premises. Just cut the internal cables away and remove any affected connection points.

 

[mansea]

I don’t currently use the landline for calls or broadband no. But I'm about to plaster a wall and want to chase in the master socket with duct so that it can be fished out and swapped for FTTP at a later date. I personally hate surface patress boxes and trunking.

The current master socket is located in the hallway as is common with older properties, but noone stands in hallways talking on the landline any more, so I want to move it to the lounge next to the tv/media area, so people can get wired connections from router to games consoles, tvs and streaming box etc.

 

[Diver Fred]

Well to that extent I agree with you, I also dislike cables and routers on show, the router in my house is out of sight in a cupboard in the centre of the house where I have a patch panel.
I'm sure what ever you do is unlikely to suit the next residents entirely if at all, seriously if you have no intention of using it yourself I'd not bother.