"CJT" wrote in message
...
Eigenvector wrote:

I can't find a good solid ruling for this one.

Are phone lines grounded locally at the house?

The configuration at my house has the main phone line coming off the
pole, down to a junction box, where 2 phone lines leave and a single
ground wire connects to the cold water plumbing.

I can't find any definite answers as to whether or not that ground wire
is required, desired, or useless. The intent is on replacing the whole
setup with CAT 5E (seeing how it's just as cheap as CAT 3 or phone cable)
and re-routing the wires, but I don't know if I need to keep the ground
wire. It looks like pretty standard 14 gauge wire, in a grey sheath.
I think that ground is the phone company's. They might have something
to say about you removing it.

Alright, I'd better call them then.

The whole thing started while I was sheetrocking and insulating the
basement. The previous owner/and or phone company rather than drilling
holes into the studs, took a chisel and cut a "V" notch on the surface of
the stud so that the sheetrock would lay flat. So I'm looking at their
handywork and wondering how I can re-route those wires - when I discovered
that one of those grey wires wasn't a phone line - it was a ground wire.
Now I'm wondering if I can route the ground wire to my panel instead and/or
toss it.

Alright, Qwest here I come. I'm sure it will take about a week to
sufficiently explain my question to them so that I get an intelligent
answer.

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