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?

Steve


Around these parts, if you haven't been a PITA with 'accidents' before,
they will generally give you a freebie on the first one, along with a
lecture about calling the locator service before you dig. If your buddy
with the backhoe also has a ditch witch, and can have a slit trench
waiting for them to replace the whole drop all the way from street
pedestal to demarc, that could help your case. Ma Bell prefers not to
have underground splices. (At least the older field techs say that.)

Failing that, I'd pay the $300, and call it a lesson for your equipment
operator. Maybe he'll split it with you.

--
aem sends...