Rogers Wire Installation

[El19]

So old house here, we recently had a Roger’s line ran into our house for internet. When the tech came out, the line was ran across the road using white indoor wire. It was strung ontop of tree branches and zip tied to the hydro line into our house.

We have had a seperate tech come out today and tell us the install was fine.

Are we being over dramatic here, or are there actually issues with this install?

*Added Labels*

[RogersMoin]

Hello, @El19.

We're delighted that you joined our Community. Thank you for your post.

When there is no coax cable, or the existing cable can't be used, the techs will run a temporary cable from the pedestal. There will be a pending cable burial request on your account.

If the cable can't buried before the end of the burial season, it will buried at the start of the new season, and the temporary cable will be removed.

We appreciate your understanding.

Cheers,
RogersMoin

[El19]

Thank you for your response! We have been told by two customer service representatives this is the permanent line. We live in an older neighbourhood where these lines are ran across the road. We are basically stuck with the line the way it is!

[57 · Accepted solution]

In older neighbourhoods, where the main cable runs on "telephone poles," the line to your home will be "in the air" and not be buried.  If the main cable is not on your side of the road, it will run "over the road" at an appropriate height.  Even though the cable is white, it should be designed for purpose with the appropriate gauge.

All of the homes in our older neighbourhood near Yonge & Lawrence in Toronto have this sort of cable in the air for Rogers or for Bell.

A cable should not really run in parallel with a hydro line for long distances due to possible interference, but a short distance or crossing the hydro line at 90 degrees, is fine since this happens at most demarcation points in the home anyway.

[Datalink]

Personal opinion, there are issues with this installation.  No one, and I do mean no one should be zip tying any type of cable to an energized power line.  

@El19 if you're in Ontario, call the Electrical Safety Authority (1-877-372-7233) and ask to speak to an inspector. Explain the situation and see what he or she says.  I suspect that he or she will take a dim view of Rogers techs zip tying cables to an energized power cable.  The end result might be a visit from an inspector who might cut the zip ties and possibly the RG-6 cable.  I would be extremely surprised to see an ESA inspector approve such an installation. 

https://esasafe.com/

If you're not in Ontario, contact the Electrical Safety Authority for your province.  This might also fall under the city power company's responsibility. 

The last time that something like this was reported in the forum, a Rogers tech had wrapped the RG-6 cable around electrical mast that connects to the external electrical meter.  A passing truck caught the cable and ripped the mast and electrical box off of the house.  

So, there are rules in place to prevent accidents, preventing ISP RG-6 cables from contact with energized power cables, endangering the closest customer and those connected to the same local tap. 

I don't have a copy of the electrical code on hand, and I'm not about to spend over $200 to prove the point.  From what I have found, for energized power lines, under 750 volts, the minimum separation distance for communication cables, taking into account the power line sag, is 300 milli-meters which equals 11.8 inches.  Call it one foot for good measure.  So, if the zip tied cable is less than one foot from the power line, then its probably too close.  

Fwiw......

[El19]

Thank you for that! After our concerns being shot down on the phone this morning, we had our 3rd tech come out today and take one look at it and immediately contacted his manager. They will be finding who did this installation in the first place. We are having a crew come to safely install a line tomorrow.