In article ,
aemeijers wrote:

You can buy your own demarc box or SNID or whatever, you know.

Agreed. However, some folks object to PAYING for, and installing
themselves, that which SHOULD (and eventually might) be installed for
"free" by the telco.

Just connect the old telco house feed to
the 'protected' side of the box.

While it sounds easy enough, keep in mind that service providers take a
VERY dim view of unauthorized persons messing with THEIR property.

In my experience, those that did work on the telco side of the demarc
did so in a shoddy, uninformed manner. Most often the ground was
omitted. Ignorant or, more likely, careless alarm system installers
were most likely to work "ahead" of the demarc. In many cases, they
would make their "line seizure" tap AHEAD of the protector, routing the
unprotected pair to the alarm system panel, then back to the protector
where it was finally protected.

There is a potential, significant ADVANTAGE to NOT having an official
network interface, particularly IF the customer does NOT subscribe to an
inside wiring maintenance plan: In the event of inside wire trouble,
where the subscriber is unable to UNPLUG from the network, a trouble
isolation charge is NOT levied. It is during this isolation process
that the repair tech is SUPPOSED to install a SNI/D, especially if the
customer does NOT subscribe to an inside wire maintenance plan. That
way, if inside trouble occurs again, the isolation charge ($) CAN be
levied.

On numerous occasions, I encountered and performed just as I described.
I would install the interface. Then, if the trouble was on just ONE of
the station wires, I would leave that one disconnected, usually
restoring service to the rest of the customer's system.

If there was only one pair leaving the old protector (series-wired
home), the customer remained out of service until the inside trouble was
cleared.

In either case, I would show the customer their new SNI and demonstrate
its operation. I would then explain their options for repair including
an offer to fix the inside trouble myself at my company's exorbitant
rate.

A SNI/D (Standard Network Interface Device) does NOT necessarily improve
service as it provides NO improved protection compared to the old,
grandfathered "hard-wired to the protector" service. The SNI/D simply
provides an OFFICIAL point of demarcation between the service provider
and the customer AND a convenient means to disconnect from the network
for trouble isolation purposes.
--

JR