Local cable company is installing fiber optic cable to residences. They are asking for a grounding conductor to be supplied at the point of termination on the outside of the residence. Typically they will tie into the residential grounding system. However if no ground is close by they will drive a ground rod near their equipment termination box outside the residence. Is it legit for them to drive a separate ground rod, and not be connected to the residential grounding system?
Grounding Fiber Optic Cable
- Thread starter Brody05
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- Bremerton, Washington
- Occupation
- Master Electrician
Telecom utilities are not subject to the NEC. Installing a seperate ground accomplishes nothing and actually introduces an additional entry point for lightning. NEC requires telecom grounding to the buildings electrical grounding system. The NEC has required an intersystem bonding point for many years for telecom to bond to.
Are they using armored fiber?
Are they using armored fiber?
zbang
Senior Member
- Location
- Roughly 5346 miles from Earls Court
texie
Senior Member
- Location
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- Occupation
- Electrician, Contractor, Inspector
Under no circumstances is the telecom provider allowed to create their own separate grounding system that is not bonded to the building GES.
My interpenetration - if a separate ground rod is driven it must be connected to the existing ground rod or ground source that is providing ground for the electrical system on that structure.
However there are some residence (older homes, older electrical systems) that do not have a dedicated earth ground. These seem to be the locations they drive their own ground rods to connect their equipment.
However there are some residence (older homes, older electrical systems) that do not have a dedicated earth ground. These seem to be the locations they drive their own ground rods to connect their equipment.
hbiss
EC, Westchester, New York NEC: 2014
- Location
- Hawthorne, New York NEC: 2014
- Occupation
- EC
Never seen that. They just need a ground for the ONT, which apparently in this case is hung on the side of the building. There is a possibility that they are using a pair of copper conductors incorporated into the fiber cable for powering the ONT (network powered broadband, Art.830) but I thought they gave up on that years ago.
It's customary for them to to install their drop with the existing POCO drop so there should be ample access to the GEC. If the drop and ONT can't be located with the service because the point of entrance is someplace else, they must run a bond from their ground rod to wherever the GEC is or put the ONT with the service entrance and run coax and CAT5 around to wherever the point of entrance is.
-Hal
- Status