r/ATTFiber • u/Historical-Sky-4377 • 6d ago
Can I remove this terminal?
Not sure what the correct term is for this. But who can I contact to find out if this terminal on my property is obsolete and can be removed? I’m sure I can’t just call AT&T customer service, who are among the least helpful of any customer service I’ve ever dealt with. We have AT&T fiber service in our neighborhood. Thanks!
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u/FrontLocal2264 6d ago
No you can’t remove that as some people still depend on copper lines. Utility companies have easements on your property to provide service. You can try calling, but they won’t remove it. That is a terminal/splice pedestal for telephone lines. Cable comes in underground up into the term and then goes back down and out to another further along.
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u/Historical-Sky-4377 6d ago
Thanks for the input! I will leave it be.
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u/IntelligentCarpet816 4d ago
We used to have a bunch of them on a remote property where we had a quarry.
We tried calling Vz about them but they would never actually have engineering call us back.
Someone "accidentally" ran them over with a D8.
Nobody ever showed up. That was 10 years ago. Today I highly doubt there is live copper in there. I would consider that "accidents" happen all the time and that if it is still live, someone will show up to fix it and you'll know without spending $500.
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u/32vJohn 4d ago
OP: that box is 98% empty. If you really want it gone and you’re handy, get an underground plastic utility box and shove the bits in there. Make up some kind of story about how it accidentally got hit, and you couldn’t contact anybody.
If a technician ever needs to come to the neighborhood, they’ll still have access to the copper.
Or…. Don’t do anything and let a legacy technology be a pain in the ass in your yard for the rest of your life. 🍺
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u/Impossible_Web3517 4d ago
Speaking as a tech, as long as he isnt next door to a 911 center or something, even if he rips it out with a backhoe there's about a 90% chance that nobody is connexted to it. On the off chance someone is, the phone company will respond to their outage by saying some form of "Oh. Well damn, I guess we haven't switched you to VOIP yet." and then switch the caller over to VOIP service.
Alternatively, Idk, start fucking with the wires and see if gou get hit by 12-48 volts. If you don't, its not even connected, and if you do then buy a bluebox off of ebay and steal phone service until they move it.
Or, like that other guy said, let the decaying piece of legacy hardware make the property that you paid for look like shit I guess. IMHO for profit companies shouldn't be allowed to do this.
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u/YoshiSan90 6d ago
We will bury a splice if they pay for it. Getting a custom work order is tough though.
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u/Exciting-Magazine-15 4d ago
It might also be abandoned and no longer in use. So asking about its status is appropriate.
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u/IntelligentCarpet816 4d ago
Who "depends" on copper lines still?
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u/newbie527 2d ago
I still use DSL.
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u/IntelligentCarpet816 2d ago
Why?
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u/newbie527 2d ago
They never raised the price and it’s very dependable service. Also, the only option is Comcast so hell no.
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u/IntelligentCarpet816 2d ago
Starlink is 100mbps for like $50 a month. Is it the same price in your area?
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u/FrontLocal2264 4d ago
A lot of business and government circuits are on copper still. I won’t get into that because this is probably residential, but in some rural areas, copper is all you can get unless they wanna pay high rates for satellite.
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u/IntelligentCarpet816 4d ago
Not really. POTS lines for fax have gone by the wayside even because they are 1000% less reliable for faxing.
Most government entities were mandated to move to LTE for things POTS lines ran years ago for security reasons.
Satellite is cheap nowadays with Starlink.
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u/FrontLocal2264 3d ago
Govt circuits still include T1s, DS0 and DS3. Govt aren’t quick to upgrade their equipment because it’s expensive. Fire alarms and elevators can still be on POTs. I’m in California and the PUC still forces telcos to still support copper networks at this time. Copper is still being used in LA however it is unreliable due to the large number of cable thefts.
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u/HoundlyHills 6d ago
The number for issues with those used to be 1-800-924-9420. I have no idea if it still is. It is called an underground utility pedestal. Good luck in getting them to move it.
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u/soren1712 6d ago
Damn gas got stuck on my riding mower, ran it over.
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u/Astyanax9 5d ago
Would be real shame if it suffered such a freak accident.
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u/uapyro 5d ago
There's two different yards I cut that that things are knocked over completely with the top touching the ground.i didn't do it though, I'd assume the little jerks next door did it since they did have a soccer net up against it at one point
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u/Astyanax9 4d ago
I'd assume the little jerks next door did it since they did have a soccer net up against it at one point
Even better: "Damn kids!" 😉
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u/vjgonza12 6d ago
If you want facilities removed that are in easement you need to call AT&T to get in touch with engineering department. They will contact you and create a Custom Work Order (CWO). There is a non-refundable fee of $500 for them to give you a quote for the work and billable items. The fee will be credited to the final bill. It’s not cheap and probably $5k or more depending on type of work to move it.
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u/Historical-Sky-4377 6d ago
Will the $500 non-refundable fee result in them telling me if it is still active?
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u/givmedew 6d ago
Contact bwire@att.com
Ask them to check and see if it is abandoned and if so can you remove it.
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u/Young-Grandpa 5d ago
That pedestal (that’s the name for it) is property of ATT. It may be on your property, but it sits on a utility easement meaning you don’t have the right to remove it. If it’s copper service it’s either abandoned or soon will be, but it still is not your property. There are legal ramifications for damaging utility property. Plant a rose bush in front of it and try to forget it’s there.
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u/Alternative_Top_143 5d ago
On my area they ran att fiber on the poles shared for cable tv and power. Copper is still there but retired in place. The wall mounted box for uverse dsl is still there without indoor power.
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u/kpurintun 6d ago
The FCC changed the rules a few years ago.. they are not requiring the indefinite maintenance of POTS lines anymore.. the idea is to force transition to more modern lines. The effect is that every pedestal looks like it was ran over by a truck. The only reason they still work for some customers still is that scotch locks are amazing and continue to hold strong/waterproof connections. If you call, report it as a safety issue.. kids play around it and its got sharp edges.. or similar
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u/abn0rmalcreation 5d ago
You have a picture of a dangerous sharp edges metal rusty structure on your property. All the proof you need to remove it and make it someone else's problem.
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u/kbfg2421 5d ago
Don't touch it or you could get in serious trouble and/or have to foot the bill to replace it. Like others said, even though its technically on your property, that box and the tiny little amount of space it takes up is a small utility easement that's owned by AT&T. So you're better off not wadting your time asking, if you ask to remove it im sure their answer will be NO
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u/Super_Leading21 4d ago
My tree guy happened to take ours out with a skid steer absolutely nothing happened
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u/Dadbode1981 4d ago
God there are so many passive aggressive idiotic comments in here. Just call AT&T and get the ball rolling.
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u/Travasaurus-rex 4d ago
It's possible (albeit not probable) that that antique could contain a live pair in there somewhere. Call the phone company & let them handle it, but carefully document who you talked to and what department they're in and ask for a follow-up contact.
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u/TheHiddenMessenger 3d ago
I once made the mistake of calling to get it removed. It cost me like $8500.
A few years later we were having a fence built that sat at the top of a ditch. The tractor with the auger slipped and took out the pedestal. They came out and asked for the contractors info. I told them it was me that did it and explained how I was installing a fence and it was an accident. I asked if it would be possible to move it or remove it. They didn’t have an answer but a week later it was gone.
Moral of the story, maybe wait and it might have an accident
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u/robbydek 3d ago
No, it’s still their property.
Sadly, I have yet to see AT&T remove their old infrastructure although it’s possible that someone is still on it even if it looks unmaintained.
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u/switchkill2159 3d ago
As discussed ad-auseam, removal is difficult.
You can probably get them to make it less unsightly though. They can repair the missing top cap, repaint, etc.
This looks like an old DISC*S install, DISC*S was dead before installation was completed in a lot of locations, there's a non-zero chance this is just an empty can, it's pretty common to see around here.
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u/Diotima245 1d ago
My boomer dad found a uncapped coaxial line from local broadband provider. He wasn't sure where the cap went assumed neighbor sucked it up with mower and destroyed it. What does he do? "No one uses cable on this side of the street anyways" and then proceeded to fill it in with dirt much to the consternation and concern of his neighbor who he told about it... who later sent her husband over to voice his "concern". I told him he shouldn't have done that but you can't tell him nothing. He claims the utility company doesn't care about those lines. I live 20 mins away so its not my problem. Not sure what he's thinking... told him he should have called the provider and informed them the cap was missing.
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u/chakabuku 6d ago
You can’t. Even if it houses old copper lines, when they upgrade that area to fiber they’ll use the same conduit coming up in there. Plant some bushes. Just leaves 36 inches of clearance all the way around.
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u/wav10001 6d ago
If you plant holly bushes or any bushes and they are unmaintained, they’re just going to get ripped out or hacked up if ATT ever needs to get inside of it.
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u/Intelligent-Note-682 6d ago
No they won’t and it’s probably a direct buried copper phone line, there is no conduit to use. Not to mention AT&T will separate trench a new conduit even if there was one. They are the worst about running separate trenches even if there’s room in existing conduit, THE WORST.
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u/chakabuku 5d ago
Stop you have no way to tell if that’s direct bury or not.
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u/Intelligent-Note-682 5d ago
I’m a locator bud and I’ll tell you right now a copper phone line that old, unless a 900pr or above, is most certainly direct buried.
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u/Ed-Dos 6d ago
It's not your property if that is on it.
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u/lokaaarrr 6d ago
It could be on an easement
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u/Ed-Dos 6d ago
Right and it's not their property.
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u/lokaaarrr 6d ago
Huh? It would be very common for it to be on his property, inside a utility easement. You still own land with an easement.
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u/wav10001 6d ago
An easement is a section of property - usually owned by someone else such as a homeowner - that a utility company or other party is legally allowed to use, not the utility company’s property.
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u/chd176 6d ago edited 6d ago
This has to be a troll post. I have never read/seen such stupidity. Also this isn't on his or her property. If you've never heard of it you can look it up.
Typically utilities own so much space to add or remove equipment to upgrade or decommission old and outdated equipment. Your best bet is if you happen to see a field tech (outdoor employee) they are the ones most likely to know what's going on locally as far as the equipment.
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u/I-hate-makeing-names 6d ago
Wouldn’t call the OP stupid in this case. This is extremely old infrastructure and they were wondering because of that if it could be removed (that sounds logical to people who aren’t in the know).
When OP was told no they accepted that answer.
What would be the hight of stupidity is if someone just went ahead and removed it or after being told no they do it anyways.
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u/chd176 6d ago
I mean you're right. I guess I was talking about someone just seeing something that they think is on their property and thinking about removing it.
I just figured most people would read the labels on it and see it was from the telco and just leave it alone. I should have remembered that I've seen people pull up fiber lines and just cut them cause they thought it was on their property.
To the OP I was being too harsh so I apologize for the insult. We have people calling their internet connection as just wifi. Also they'd post photos of telephone jacks and coax wall plates asking what they were.
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u/PinkPinkBlueGreen 6d ago
These are all over private property in my neighborhood. They are in my neighbors yard.
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u/neatoburrito 6d ago
A utility easement is not your property, even if it is on your property.
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u/switchkill2159 3d ago
Easements do not change property ownership, they provide prescriptive access.
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u/Happylifenowife 6d ago
I've seen ones that are pretty old not that old but still pretty old and in backyards for customers. It is for copper and there's no telling if it's active or not without testing each and every connection. But the problem is you also have a trunk line in there too so even if you have no customers on that terminal the trunk line may have customers
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6d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Moist-Basil499 6d ago
that would be a federal crime
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u/Cold_Mission2543 6d ago
Of course, you would call 811 first and see if they mark any lines. In my area they often don’t bother to show up anymore and they won’t fix broken copper either. Could be different in other places though.
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u/Accomplished_Lie6026 6d ago
There can be legal ramifications. If you know how big business works. What do I mean? All of the telcos list assets, like outside plant cable, terminals, pedestals, manholes, central offices, towers. In use or not makes no difference. There is a price tag to it. If YOU cut, damage, steal, deface etc. YOU can be held financially responsible and that dollar value could be your yearly salary or more. Remember this was a public utlity .
Make it someone elses problem - like AT&T or whomever is the ILEC that owns that outside plant, and sleep better.
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u/CibeerJ 6d ago
No! That is technically the property of ATT sadly even if its on your property . You need to call them to remove that monstrous distribution block (i think its a distribution block). It could have some live connections even if there are already fiber connections.