Working on a Sunday! BT!!!

Carlisle is due to have FTTC up and running in June. A few weeks ago they were out at my end of town laying the thick black piping they use to feed the cables through necessary for FTTC. Since then i havent seen any activity.

Today though, they seem to be out in droves, seen at least three BT vans parked up on the pavement feeding through the same through the thick black pipes from a wheel...

Looking forward to more than 3mb broadband!

Often weekend and evening working is the only time they are allowed to work on parts of the highway.

utility companies like BT have an absolute right to carry out whatever work they need to, and excavate the public highway as they see fit at any time. The only thing they have to do is notify the highway authority in advance for planned work (usually the county council or borough council in a unitary area), but dont confuse notification with a request for permission.

And the notification period can be as much as 3 months ... and the LA does have a right to reject the notification too which then forces BT to work at agreed times or to put onerous conditions on BT.

Not quite right.

This is definitely not the way things work in those areas where the Local Highway Authority operates a permit scheme (Kent and London boroughs).

Hope you don't work for a utility company/contractor