Comcast Installs Cable In Your Gutter, Across Your Driveway
For more than a year, says the Baltimore Sun, there were Comcast cables laying in the gutters, and across the driveways of a neighborhood in Hanover, MD. Why were they laying there? Because that's where Comcast installed them.
Instead of being routed underground between two pedestals that house cables, the wires were strung along the gutters next to the sidewalk, crossing two driveways on the 2600 block of Fairbourne Court. Cables from the pedestals spilled out onto the grass as well.
"I just came home from work one day, and that's how it was," [homeowner, Nicky] Frantz said.
"It's not a huge defect, but we like to keep our area looking nice," she said. "We figured they've got to come back and fix it eventually, and they never did."
Ms. Franz tried showing the cables to some techs who came to repair her family's service over the summer. They didn't fix it. She also tried contacting Comcast's Twitter team — they at least called her back — but didn't fix the problem. Finally, it took a call from the Baltimore Sun before any Comcast trucks showed up.
Comcast's spokesperson told the paper that cable is sometimes installed that way temporarily, and apologized for the delay.
Comcast cables installed in gutter [Baltimore Sun]
(Baltimore Sun photo by Chiaki Kawajiri)
This is a test using rich text formatting and html links. It's the generic "company" ad that should appear on all posts with the Company category if they don't have an ad attached to a specific company.
Post a comment
Comments:
That's how ALL the cable switch boxes look in Chicago. :(
I'm surprised they survived that long, getting run over, stepped on, and so forth.
At least Comcast Cable's cable cables are high-quality cables.
That's Comcalf-assed!
Time Warner ran cable across my yard to a new house and left it that way. This was in the fall and they assured me that it would be buried as soon as possible. The following spring it was, of course, still there. And it was lawn mowing season. So I got my lawn mower, gas can, ipod, and big freaking pair of bolt cutters and headed out of the garage. The time warner repair guy that showed up two hours later was really ticked off. The following week, after I did it again, they threatened to call the police. The week after that, they did. I explained to the police what was going on, that TM was welcome to bury the damned thing at any time, and that I was not going to stop mowing my yard because they were too lazy to do so. He told the tech to STFU and left. They buried it a couple of days later. After almost 5 months.
@Obijuan: That still doesn't explain why it took Comcast close to a full year to remedy this. The ground isn't frozen in Baltimore year-round. I'm also shocked that they'd leave the cable like this across multiple driveways. A single snow storm and subsequent plow could rip that cable right out of there.
Bring back those big antennas! They look better than this *h__! Plus, then you won't have to worry about Comcast over billing you. Oh, and the picture aulity is much better too. Oh, and no monthly bill!
Sounds like my friends place near hanover. They told him it was temporary a few years ago. Still waiting for that permanent switch.
@vastrightwing: And no Discovery, TLC, History, Bravo, SciFi, ComedyCentral, BBC America, Food Network... the few things I actually like to watch on TV aren't available free OTA, and the satellite companies are just a different brand of cable companies with their own crappy problems and no good broadband internet.
Doesn't surprise me. When we first had our cable installed here they left our cable laying across our side yard for a good 3 months before I decided to bury it myself. Was a pain in the butt to mow the lawn that summer.
Our neighbors have had their cable running from jct. box, across chain link fence, through yard w/3 big dogs, for about 6 months now and no burial in site.
Surewest just came to my neighborhood and you can bet I'm gonna be switching.
Heck my snowblower or lawnmower would've eaten it by the time a year was up, and it'd just be a moment of inattentiveness. Winter? I have an ice chip blade I use on a regular basis around here. I keep it SHARP, one bad tap and it'd slice right through coax, while I de-icing the skirt. Heck, shoveling could kill the cable!
This reminds me of why a former employee had multiple "accidents" on his property (while he wasn't around) after the cable company pulled some stupid sh*t similar to this...
I'd think that it'd be labeled a hazard too. One person trips, lawsuit over your exposed cable.
i honestly think that it has not been their a year, RG6 cable is not that robust if it was stepped on a few times it would look like crap on the tv it is going to and since most people have more than 1 tv it is most likely feeding the entire house for cable. If it was damaged those people would lose service and call in for a trouble call and most techs would get it replaced and scheduled for a new drop to be put in (new drops have to be buried in a orange conduit about 18 inches to protect them).
Then again i don't work for comcast i work for a small 4 state cable company and we put customers first so seeing stuff like this doesnt make sense to me either.
@JGBrock:
My friend had a big box installed in his yard, and they broke the fence to get in back (the gate was locked) because he wasn't in the worlds best neighborhood. He took the rest of the fencing down on that side and posted all sorts of prominent warnings about theft, blah blah blah. Basically saying: this box is important and expensive.
They were pissed he took the fence down exposing the box (part of the secret reason they placed it in his yard) because the contents were stolen multiple times. One guy drove a skid steer or something (from the way the lawn was tore up) on the lawn and stole the whole f*cking box.
My friend just snickered as they replaced the box time and again. They finally gave up, after he refused to rebuild the fence, since they wouldn't pay to repair the damaged section.
My in-laws had a comcast wire running over their bushes for years. They ended up simply cutting it "by mistake" every time they trimmed the bushes, until comcast got the police to threaten them with arrest if they didn't stop. That's right, instead of fixing the wire that was strung across someone's private property, they simply called the police on anyone who touched it.
@ScottRose: Oh, please, no one would make that kind of mistake. 67alecto is obviously referring to monster.com. Which still raises the question of why anyone would use a job finding website to hook people up to cable service...
Speaking as a former electrician and a current electrical engineer (working towards my P.E. license)I can say that the above installation, whether permanent or temporary, is a gross violation of the National Electric Code (which does by the way cover telecommunications wiring such as telephone, data networking and cable TV wiring).
Under section 820.24:
"Community television and radio distribution systems shall be installed in a neat and workmanlike manner. Coaxial cables installed exposed on the surface of ceiling and sidewalls shall be supported by the building structure in such a manner that the cables will not be damaged by normal building use. Such cables shall be secured by hardware including straps, staples, cable ties, hangers, or similar fittings designed and installed so as not to damage the cable. The installation shall also conform to 300.4(D) and 300.11."
Section 300.4(D) has to do with protecting wiring from damage in wood framed structures.
Section 300.11 describes what may and may not be used as a means of support. Gutters are not approved.
Any installer worth a damn, would never even consider such an installation.
@JGBrock: That's exactly what I was thinking - cut the cable repeatedly until they bury the damn thing. Glad to hear that noble approach worked out for you!
So if I was to walk on the sidewalk and trip on the cable, who could I sue???? Comcast or the homeowner? Since the homeowner is required to take care of the sidewalk in front of their house, are they also on the hook for anyone getting hurt by the cable. (I am sure someone can find a way to trip of that)
Sounds like a beef I had with Pac Bell over my phone lines (Now ATT). The house I bought many years back had three drops running to it. The one on the far side of the house was not being used and I requested that they remove the cable and the junction box from the house. The CSR said that they wouldn't.
I politely informed the CSR that I had a pair of wire cutters and would have no problem cutting the cable and letting it hang from the pole until they decided to fix it.
A truck was out 2 days later and the wire removed.
For about 2-3 months Comcast left the cable strung from the road across my yard and up to the roof. I ended up having to string it along the fence to protect the cable from the dogs. Then one morning a man shows up and says he was there to bury the line and he had called several times, but the number was disconnected. Strange, seeing as my phone is through Comcast and was working.
Every house in my neighborhood in Aspen, Co. has at least one ugly curbside pedestal. Some have two (Telephone and cable). Some three (electrical). The utilities don't want them at the house anymore because it's more work for the tech, etc. We have endless zoning regulations, but nothing seems to stop the spread of these little green monsters. I was free of them until QWEST decided to run a new line part-way to my house, from the pedestal across the street to a new location in my yard. They put in a beat-up, used one. I replaced it with a lawn sprinkler valve box and left Qwest's on their front door.
Where's the outrage?
@trotskysghost:
Awesome. I love it when someone who really knows their shit, right down to the details, gets to comment on something like this. It's always entertaining to find out exactly what rules they're breaking, and how unprofessional it is. (Thanks!)
I'll testify to this. I've seen it in Baltimore County personally.
@superhalo: On that note it happens here at Bright House as well. The number customers originally set up their account with is often not working or some cellphone that they left behind. The techs running only see that number and not always the # attached to your phone modem (MTA). So when you do call in always ask the CSR if your info is up to date.
This is not news. This happens everywhere and sometimes temp cables get missed and they stay on the ground until someone calls in.
I've seen one going across 5 driveways with minimum 30 wait to bury.
@lars2112: Comcast has the deep pockets, so you're gonna sue them regardless of whose "fault" it actually is.
The last time I moved to a new place and had cable installed was in a late September. The tech leaves the cable draped across the lawn and says a different crew will be back to bury it. They didn't make it back before Winter set in. This being Minnesota, at least the top foot of earth is frozen solid by the end of November. I think it was late April when they eventually returned and buried the cable.
To their credit, they did not disturb the lawn at all with the burial; you couldn't tell where the cable went. However, the following spring I found the cable while doing some gardening. I hit it with a trowel while planting flowers. The cable was buried all of 4" beneath the sod.
@trotskysghost: The NEC may apply, but is it ever actually enforced with cable installers? It's certainly not in the jurisdiction where I live. Maybe in pre-wired new home construction...but I've never heard of a Comcast cable guy pulling a permit to run cable in or to an existing building.
No permit, no inspection. No inspection and, well, you have the state of affairs we have now.
Comcast did the same thing to me right around this time in 2004 when the Eagles were in the playoffs. They came out and laid the cable in the gutter, and it snowed the morning after. When the snowplow came, it cut the connection just as people were coming over to watch the game. Needless to say, they didn't come out and do anything right away. Two days later, they replaced the connection....the exact same way as before!
WOW this same thing just happened 2days ago here in Minnesota! It has been cut twice from snowplow in two days. This one actually crossed a residential road. Then I look out today and they (Comcast) is putting it right back where it was across the road and guess what?----It's snowing in Minnesota!! Glad I have Direct tv
@Starfury: Weird. I had an extraneous PacBell drop on my house. I called them about it and it was gone within a day or two. I wasn't even a Pacbell customer.
@JiminyChristmas: Key word in that section is 'installed'. It's not installed, it's a temporary line. One year is a obviously a ridiculous amount of time for it, they dropped the ball and they know it. There is no way that is intended to be the finished installation.
@Obijuan: "RG6 cable is not that robust if it was stepped on a few times it would look like crap "
Your small, 4-state cable company must not have the same quality cable as Comcast. That line was likely quad-shield, flooded RG-6, and even non-flooded can be run over by 18-wheelers without significant loss to signal. Of the various Comcast systems I've worked in, none of them put RG-6 cable in conduit as a standard, and none of them put it 18" down. Feeder, on the other hand...
The description is a little spotty, but my experience also dictates it could actually be a temporary line substituting for a short run of feeder, in which case it could actually be servicing quite a few people, and dozens of televisions.
So naive.... Someone in your block is stealing comcast internet :P
That is exactly how it looks a block away in our subdivision. It was put down that way in the spring, so frozen ground was not an issue. I believe it was laziness... I had to laugh because twice now I've seen the cable shredded this winter when plows have gone down the street and ripped it out of the connection from the box and left it lying in the person's front yard or street. I feel for the people who keep losing service because of Comcast's laziness... Evidently when the customer calls to complain, Comcast comes back out and reconnects the cable, but leaves it all lying along the curbside in the gutter...
Once again.. this is why I have Directv. I run my own cables. I also use over the air digital. It is a much better picture for my locals then cable or Directv.
In my in-laws neighborhood (in Georgia where there is no frozen ground) many houses look like this. One house even has cable running across a neighbors yard and driveway to their house. It looks ridiculous.
@vastrightwing: I don't think you need to sensor yourself. You should see the shit they say on Jezebel.
I had cable installed in my new house in August (not Comcast). I waited 13 hours and finally lost my temper (an understatement) and they installed it in the dark at 9PM. Six months and a dozen requests later, they buried the cable January 5th.
i work for a cable company and the likely reason they did not burry the drop is because the ground is frozen and the gutter is the safest place for the cable so it doesnt get damaged. n I have done this a few times and have came back to replace the drop in a few weeks.