What is this BT box located on my front door frame?!

Hi all.

Could anyone tell me what the BT box is in the picture below? Is that a master socket?

I'm in the process of renovating a house and I would like to replace the front door and frame. However, this BT box is located on the actual door frame which is to be replaced, and the wires which come from outside actually go through the door frame. For those reasons it will need to be moved to a different location. I have a couple of questions which I hope someone can answer for me.

1. What is it?
2. Is it owned by BT?
3. How much will BT charge to move it and maybe replace it for a newer split face master socket (if that's what it is)?

Here is the box:

http://i587.photobucket.com/albums/ss317/GSDogUK/IMG...

... and the wires which go through the door frame into it:

http://i587.photobucket.com/albums/ss317/GSDogUK/IMG...


Any help would be appreciated.

Edited by deleted (Thu 02-Jun-11 12:02:41)

We have two of those in circuit - they seem to be splitters, so as to split the line in half on entry to the home with one half of the circuit going upstairs and the other downstairs.

If only one pair is used then I'd guess you don't need that box, but you will need a master socket on the end of it to make it work.

In our case here both those boxes plus the GPO kit is all BT owned, so we can't touch it and if we did remove it then I guess we'd be looking at a charge for someone to come round and wire it back in again (though most of the current wiring is actually superfluous)

In such a case it might be cheaper to simply have a "new line" as most places charge between about £49 and £150 to put one in e.g. discontinue service on it then start again as a new customer.

It looks like a straight joint box to me, which effectively connects the external wiring to the internal house wiring. I would assume that the cable on the house side would then go to your master socket in the house and any other extensions would be connected from there.

As for moving it, I would think that the job should be done by BT, although anyone with electrical knowledge can probably disconnect the external wires, pull the cable back through the door frame, replace the door frame and either reroute the cable back through the new frame or drill a hole in the wall and route it in that way, before reconnecting the wires the way they were originally....

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

It looks like a straight joint box to me, which effectively connects the external wiring to the internal house wiring. I would assume that the cable on the house side would then go to your master socket in the house and any other extensions would be connected from there.

As for moving it, I would think that the job should be done by BT, although anyone with electrical knowledge can probably disconnect the external wires, pull the cable back through the door frame, replace the door frame and either reroute the cable back through the new frame or drill a hole in the wall and route it in that way, before reconnecting the wires the way they were originally....

That is exactly correct. It's a "block terminal 78 (or 80). It joints the extenal dropwire to the internal wiring.

As mentioned you could, at your own risk, do it yourself. Simply open take a photo or note what colours joint to one another. When happy that you can "reverse engineer", cut joint down fit door frame, drill new frame or wall, reconnect wiring.

Things to bear in mind.
Will you have sufficient cable length when it's moved?

Are the wires connected with an IDC (insulation displacement connection) only, or IDC terminations and screw terminals? If so you'll need a krone tool (probably buy from maplin for a couple of £)?

Are they connected with little 2-way jelly crimps? Might be more difficult to source. Electriacians terminal blocks would work, but would also be evidence of tampering should you ever need an engineer visit for any reason.

Hope that helps

In reply to a post by Anonymous:

In such a case it might be cheaper to simply have a "new line" as most places charge between about £49 and £150 to put one in e.g. discontinue service on it then start again as a new customer.

Initially sounds like a good idea BUT, asking for a NEW line may well result in a second line being installed (assuming existing line is working) , unless he is very, very clear about what he wants done. Similarly a takeover would not work, he would get a new number and if the existing line is working (I'm assuming it is) then no engineering visit would be needed anyway.

Best bet, DIY OR order a shift from the CP (similar to ordering an extension on an existing line).

If you are still a BT subscriber, you can be a bit naughty and report a problem with you phone. When the engineer sees this type of box, they will usually upgrade it, free of charge! We went through this process about 4 years ago. Basically the engineers regard these old boxes as likely causes of problems and want rid of them.
If you are with another provider, you might get away with the same trick but can't say for sure. Good luck!

In reply to a post by polemonkey:

[Are they connected with little 2-way jelly crimps? Might be more difficult to source. [/quote]

Not tricky, search eBay for "jelly crimp" and you can buy small quantities. Not cheap per crimp, but if you only need a couple it's the way to go.

That's what puzzles me. Here, we don't use the line at all, as it can't carry a broadband service (3.6km line, so the internal wiring may or may not be a factor in that) - it can have ADSL but only at 2meg so it's useless. That may or may not be thanks to the ancient GPO/BT wiring.

We're not telephone subscribers. So I can't see why I can't just remove all the BT/GPO equipment on my premises and pop it in a bag undamaged, invite them to come get it if they want, and then later on sign up for a new line - which would indeed have to be a new line - and fork out the £85 or whatever it is for the aforementioned new line.

I thought lines belonged to subscribers; they cannot "belong" to properties.

So that's what I thought the OP could do, especially if the line is "stopped" anyway. After all if it's going to cost £85 to get it "activated" you might as well have someone spend half an hour at the house putting in a new socket for the money.

In reply to a post by shtu:

In reply to a post by polemonkey:

[Are they connected with little 2-way jelly crimps? Might be more difficult to source. [/quote]

Not tricky, search eBay for "jelly crimp" and you can buy small quantities. Not cheap per crimp, but if you only need a couple it's the way to go.

Fair enough, I've never had to buy any myself of course

Removing to where, cable dangling outside in street?