Buried cable identified
Guide to understanding installation exceptions.
In most cases connecting your property with fibre broadband is a simple exercise. However in some premises you may need to complete some additional work before it can be connected to fibre. This is because the infrastructure supplying properties varies around the Island depending on several factors, including when properties were built and the location of the property. This page explains what you need to do if your property has been identified as having a Buried Cable.
Buried Cable
If your property has been flagged with a ‘buried cable’ exception, it has been identified that there is no existing duct work to the property. In this instance, the existing copper service is buried directly into the ground, which was common practice many years ago, and the engineer has no way of feeding the new fibre cable to the property without additional works.
The ducting supplied by the Fibre team needs to be installed by the property owner up to the boundary of the property. They can then connect their ducting to supply the fibre cable.
You have two options available to do this:
- Contact a 3rd party, such as a civil contractor, builder, or landscape gardener who may provide a quote for the work to be completed.
- The property owner can complete this themselves.
Contact a civils contractor
If you choose to get a quote from civil contractors Manx Telecom currently recommend 2 Civil Contractors which are:
Complete groundworks yourself
If you choose to complete groundworks yourself, the first step is to contact the team directly via planners@manxtelecom.com. They will arrange a convenient time for a planner to meet you on site and discuss your options. In addition, all required ducting will be supplied free of charge, ready to be installed. The planner will identify where the ducting needs to meet the curtilage of the property, how it should appear at the property, at what depth it needs to be laid and how to cover the ends to avoid the duct becoming blocked.
As a guide:
• Ducts should be buried to a depth of 350mm beneath the proposed external ground level.
• The duct (supplied) should be no greater than 15mm from the finished wall surface.
• The duct should protrude no more 50mm from the finished ground level.
• The duct opening must be covered, preventing the ingress of debris, using the supplied plug.
Once the cable is installed, the engineer will provide the capping and drill through the wall to install the ONT as part of the installation process. Below is an illustration of how the duct should reach property and an example of a trench dug to the depth of 350mm.
Left: illustration of how the duct should reach the property; Right: a picture of a trench dug to the depth of 350mm with a duct laid in.
