BT Service (problems with BT 'phone lines this morning)

[geh]

Is anyone else experiencing problems with BT 'phone lines this morning? Ours appear down.

geh

[Penguin68]

If there is an external problem the most likely cause is work on a flexibility point (pillar or cabinet) local to you - it may be worth popping out and seeing if anyone is working on one. It is very easy to inadvertently disconnect one set of pairs (or one half of a pair) whilst working on another - about a quarter of all faults used to be classed as 'working party' faults for that reason, although far less work now goes on in pillars and cabinets (they are green boxes forming part of street furniture).

It is worth checking your phone - those can also go wrong - and indeed make sure that your own internal wiring is sound - see if you are getting dial tone off a phone connected to your master socket (the first one into the house).

BT can quite easily check the line for integrity - you can call them from a mobile. I assume that you are not using BT to support your internet use - otherwise if there was a complete break in line integrity you could not have posted this message - if your voice link is down but your adsl is working that may be a technical fault at the exchange (but more normally is a function of internal wiring problems).

[geh]

Thanks for this, line completely dead (phone & Internet). BT as usual have denied all responsibility and will take 3 days to check!

I had this problem before, it took 2 weeks for BT to finally admit it was the external line that was at fault!

[Fudge]

don't know if related but I know that one of the estate agents on Lordship Lane - there lines have been down from about 11am

[MrBen]

My internet and. Phone line connectivity are both out here in central ED. I'm with Virgin Media but I guess they might share the same infrastructure with BT.

[ianr]

> I had this problem before, it took 2 weeks for BT to finally admit it was the external line that was at fault!

I found them very quick, I think next day repair, once it was established that it was definitely a line fault. You might do a belt-and-braces by invoking your own line check or fault status check, from another line, via http://www.bt.com/faults.

[Marcus]

Our phone line is dead as well.... will call BT.

[irata]

I know three businesses where line are down:

System Solutions

Ambo Architects

RDA architects

I wonder if there has been a major incident in ED area affecting lots of lines.

[Penguin68]

If there are lots of lines down, then there may well have been a 'JCB' incident (someone cuts through a cable) - this happened a lot when the cable companies were laying lots of cable, and street works can still do this. If a cable is cut repair is non trivial - unlike a gas or water or electricty pipe (which is just a single conduit) cables are made up of multiple twisted pairs, all of which lead to individual phone lines and have to be re-connected in the right order - each householder has a unique set of twisted pairs that run from their master socket back to the exchange frames (albeit through a number of flexibility points).

The only other common thing that can take-out multiple lines is flooding - although obviously cables are generally sheathed against this. If an underground cable chamber is flooded however where there are flexibility points things can short out.

Hope things come back on soon for all those without connection.

[ianr]

> If a cable is cut repair is non trivial

A promising domain for robotics, possibly, eventually, ...

[puzzled]

our accountant's office in NCR has had no phones all day. this has happened a few times in recent months. BT really are knobs!

[Penguin68]

A promising domain for robotics, possibly, eventually, ...

The issue is matching the pairs - so that the ones going towards the exchange onto subscribers equiment on the main frame are joined to the right ones going towards the subscriber's premises. I am not sure (considering that each severed cable is severed in its own way) that live jointers aren't still better at doing this than robots - obviously testing equipment is used extensively to make sure the correct ends of pairs are jointed together. If it was a JCB job then the jointers will be working in whatever hole in the ground has been created, and dealing with whichever cable type (there are lots) has been damaged. Building and programming robots for all these eventualities is even more non trivial.

[MrBen]

All well and good but I have a business to run and still unable to surf the web or make calls. Anyone heard when it might be fixed?

[MrBen]

A man in the Virgin call centre in Delhi has just advised, in a barely understandable accent, that there is a fault caused by maintenance work that should be fixed between 7 and 8pm tonight.

Failing that I say we get Penguin68 down there with his Black and Decker drill and screwdriver set.

[Penguin68]

If I was a qualified field engineer I might even offer - but I am not and I don't.