SteveB wrote:
My excellent track hoe operator cut my phone cable. He called a
buddy who works for the phone company, and he says the phone company
charges $300 to come fix it. It is a copper shielded 4 line wire. It has
some goo on the inside. It is a buried line not in a conduit.

Does the price seem high? I know I could splice the wires, but a ten
foot section was just destroyed, and I don't have any of that
specialized wire. And then there's the issue of weather and water.

What would you do?

This is a $10 out-of-pocket fix. You don't need "special" wire - almost any
insulated wire will do. By that I mean everything from doorbell wire to 10-3
house wiring.

The BEST way to fix your problem is to replace the entire run - from the
Telco's terminal to your demarc.

The second best way to repair it is to move the splices above ground in a
box of some sort.

On the other hand, I'll bet the telephone company will fix it free. They are
usually responsible for all wiring all the way up to your demarc. But even
if they think it's your responsibility, look at the problem from the Telco's
point of view. It'll cost them, oh, $100 to fix your wiring. They'll recoup
that in five months - after that your monthly bill is pure profit.
Conversely, if you tell them you can't afford the repair fee and that you're
switching to all cell phone service, they get nothing.