OT the telephone network

[Bill Wright]

Does anyone know where I can find a map showing where all the phone lines go; the routes from the exchanges to the premises and/or the streetboxes?

Is there a UK newsgroup that discusses such things?

Bill

[Andy Burns]

Pretty sure BT keep that info to themselves.

[David Wade]

I don't think is generally available, for security. The local council may have the info for road works. As for discusion uk.telecom is appropriate.

Dave

[Bob Eager]

uk.telecom

Not that all that information is available.

This is quite interesting but you have to click around a lot and try stuff out. Using a postcode for searches eventually gives you cabinates for each road, and various maps.

But you will NOT get detail - BT don't publish it, and judging by some engineers' behaviour, BT don't actually know it any more.

[Dave Liquorice]

For Openreach I doubt it exists or if it does it'll only be partial and/or out of date and not publically available. Exchange locations are a POP to find. You can easily find if a given line is via a cabinet (and it's number) or direct to the exchange. You might also be able to find a vague location of the cabinet.

If you are only looking for your local area the Mark 1 eyeball is your best research tool. Cabinets are obvious. Ducted routes have a chamber every 200 yds or so, though if in a roadside verge the covers may well be hidden under 6" of soil and overgrowth... Non-ducted routes you'll be looking for joint posts and/or small chambers. Then it's a case of "join the dots" running out from the exchange. This is probably easier to do in rural areas.

[Bill Wright]

Thanks for that.

Bill

[charles]

you're asking for the black helicopters to come and take you away.

[alan_m]

Samknows will give the exchange position and as the crow flies distance from it as well as the telephone services/broadband carried but no routing/cabinets details.

[Andy Burns]

I think Angus readily admits the cabinet 'locations' are just centres of postcode areas because the BT data he works from doesn't provide actual locations, so for guidance only ...

[Martin]

He's probably been taken by men in white coats already.

[tim...]

and every experience of interfacing with a BT engineer that you have will prove to you that what they do have,

is wrong

tim

[alan]

In addition to the 2 urls already given :-

and

#############

Another usefule site is :-

[Bob Eager]

I meant to mention that. Personal experience shows exactly that, but I have never found the cabinets hard to find once I know the postcode.

Google Streetview does the 'walk' quite quickly!

[spuorgelgoog]

Round here the broadbandy ones have the number on them in yellow paint.

Owain

[spuorgelgoog]

If you want to make sure your cabinet isn't anywhere undesirable you can have your own cable direct from the exchange to your white slimline push-button telephone with last number redial.

You'll pay extra for it though.

Owain

[Bob Eager]

In my experience even the old cabinets have the number on them, so you know when you've found the right one.

[Graham.]

On Sun, 24 Sep 2017 05:50:42 -0700 (PDT), [e-mail] coalesced the vapors of human experience into a viable and meaningful comprehension...

A pearl-white slim-line telephone with automatic redial facility.

[Bill Wright]

What you mean dog groomers?

Bill

[Bill Wright]

I wish they would. I'm fed up of DIY.

Bill

[spuorgelgoog]

So am I, but it's been two christmases since I took the old kitchen out and I really need to get round to putting a new one in.

Owain