Mains connection to Openreach pavement box

Openreach have been carrying out the preparation work on our estate for FTTP implementation.

In the last couple of days contractors have used a mole plough to run a cable from the Openreach underground pavement box connecting it to the 250 volt mains cables buried in the roadway.
This has been done to all the pavement boxes on the estate.

What is this connection used for?

Is it just to charge back up batteries to be fitted in the pavement box, or if it is used to power equipment to be fitted in the box, will power cuts result in the digital voice being unavailable even if a back up battery is fitted in the house?

Just intrigued.

Furby

In reply to a post by Furby:

a cable from the Openreach underground pavement box connecting it to the 250 volt mains cables

Are you sure its a 250v mains cable? I would have thought it would be the last thing Openreach would want in their chambers as their FTTP network is normally passive.

If it’s FTTP and not FTTC , then it could be for a subtended headend that’s going in, but that would be in a cabinet not a footway chamber , they would need to pick up mains power from the somewhere nearby, in its own dedicated duct , but there should never be ‘mains’ in the OR normal underground duct network containing copper/fibre cables

Edited by Iniltous (Tue 21-Nov-23 15:17:19)

In reply to a post by Iniltous:

If it’s FTTP and not FTTC , then it could be for a subtended headend that’s going in, but that would be in a cabinet not a footway chamber , they would need to pick up mains power from the somewhere nearby, in its own dedicated duct , but there should never be ‘mains’ in the OR normal underground duct network containing copper/fibre cables

The OP said a FTTP implementation with 250v power to every chamber on their estate, I said 250v would be the last thing Openreach would want in their chambers. no one said anything about a SHE or a cabinet so you could have just agreed with me rather than adding even more irrelevant stuff to the mix.

It's extremely unlikely to be power. Have you seen the cable itself?

If it's as thick as a sausage, it's probably a spine cable with 144 or more fibres. But it may well look similar to a power cable. Something closer in size to TV aerial cable will be from splitter node to connectorized block terminals.

Or they could be pulling subducts, which are basically just plastic pipes that fibre cables are blown through later.

Alternatively, if they really are digging up for power cables then I'd guess it's to do with street lighting - but that won't go via Openreach footway boxes, which will normally be labelled as "BT", "GPO" or "Openreach"

No chance it's mains power cable.

No it is definitely mains cable.

It is from within the roadway (There is no other cables in the road other than the mains supply).

They have added another small box in the footpath next to the original footway box, and used a mole plough from these boxes to the path of the mains cables in the road.

They have reinstated the road leaving about a foot square reinstatement.

Telephone cables are under the footpath on our estate and don't cross the road near where they have used the mole plough.

This is at every telephone pavement box to within the road where they have dug it up(about 3 feet from the kerb.

The road has been marked in red to show where the mains cables are.

The company carrying out the work is called Wingnut utilities Ltd

The fibre to the pole were installed 12 months ago and have no yet been brought into service.
The FTTC box is about 600 yards away and the telephone exchange is about 1 mile away.

Hope this helps to find out what is happening.


Furby

Could it be this is for an altnet and not Openreach if there is another smaller chamber next too the openreach one?

There is definitely no mains power in openreach footway box's . There is no need. Unless some utility has done it without permission for there own reasons. If that is what has happened they will have to remove it.

Edited by witchunt (Tue 21-Nov-23 17:35:50)

Some pictures would really help shed some light if you're able to provide them

+1

Zero chance that mains power has been supplied to an Openreach chamber unless it was by mistake. A 1-foot square patch in the road isn't big enough to be a joint onto a mains power cable either, it has to be something else.

Thanks, you are correct it is not mains cables.

I have spoken to a very helpful lady at Wingnut utilities this morning, who has told me they are installing Virgin media in our area using the Openreach ducts.

The square cut in the road was for them to complete the ducts to where they are going to install Virgin media cabinets in the pavement area.

Mystery solved.

Furby

Furby - why did you post?

Basically you didn't believe a single thing you were told here, and went and found your answer elsewhere, which you could have done right from the start.

That's rather harsh.

I read it more along the lines of them reading answers here giving them reasons why they were likely mistaken, then taking an opportunity that came up to confirm.

I think the objection is to the specific post which said "No it is definitely mains cable."

I believe Erwin’s is keen to get their post count up.