Help - what is this wire?

TimmyO

Asking for a "friend" obv :-) 

My partner was cutting back the triffids from next door that were trying to grow in through our front window. Where she cut behind that drainpipe she inadvertently snipped a branch-coloured wire that the creepers had grown around.

It's next door's and they are on holiday. We've put a note through the door apologising and obv we'll need to sort out whatever needs to be sorted out. 

So now I'm wondering in advance, what's it likely to be?

The wire itself seems to emerge from under the ground right hard up against the house (initially I thought it originated in that weathered white box down there but it doesn't) - it comes up, runs to that plastic junction box looking thing, then a same course wire goes from there up to the eaves so presumably to the loft. 

Internet? 
Phone?
(I'm assuming those are different things here as the street has had full fibre for tonks - the town is one of those that was an early adopter and Virgin inherited the local fibre company infrastructure) 
TV?
Power to the attic prison gimp? 

How much am I on the hook for £ixing do you think?

TimmyO

(oops - pics now added)

Sporky

Can you tell what the box says? 

guitargeek62

Sporky said:

Can you tell what the box says? 

Optima

Kurtis

Ooooooh! 

TimmyO

guitargeek62 said:

Sporky said:

Can you tell what the box says? 

Optima

Yep. Was hoping it's say something that I recognised but I googled Optima to no obvious avail 

drofluf

Is there a similar wire coming into your house or another neighbour’s?

If so cut it and see what stops working. That should also give you a reasonable idea of the cost to fix. 

More seriously if you have something similar you can see what it connects to. 

stickyfiddle

drofluf said:

Is there a similar wire coming into your house or another neighbour’s?

If so cut it and see what stops working. That should also give you a reasonable idea of the cost to fix. 

This is what's known as an Agile Project Management  

I have nothing to add to the discourse but I hope you get it sorted! 

Sporky

4 cores on an external cable makes me think telephone. 

Snags

I'm with Sporky, I'd guess telephone in the first instance. So you'd better hope they've switched to FTTP and VoIP and it's redundant

digitalscream

stickyfiddle said:

drofluf said:

Is there a similar wire coming into your house or another neighbour’s?

If so cut it and see what stops working. That should also give you a reasonable idea of the cost to fix. 

This is what's known as an Agile Project Management  

I have nothing to add to the discourse but I hope you get it sorted! 

Not quite. The correct approach is to cut the black cable that's also going to that box, and see what's in it. If it's fibre or coax, then the brown wire was definitely something to do with telecoms.

Then the neighbour's just as fucked, but you know a bit more about what's broken.

ICBM

Strip back two inches of each end, bare half an inch of each core, twist them together and solder, insulate the joints with tape, fold them in opposite directions along the outside of the cable to be sure, then wrap the whole lot in waterproof duct tape, hide it back in the bush and no-one should be any the wiser.

If you want to make it look professional, use heat shrink tubing for the insulation - remember to slide a big piece over the outer cable *before* you join the cores - but still use duct tape to seal it over the top unless you’re using glue-lined heatshrink. Nearly forgot, check there isn’t a shield as well when you’re joining the cores.

And don’t ask how I know this .

drofluf

stickyfiddle said:

drofluf said:

Is there a similar wire coming into your house or another neighbour’s?

If so cut it and see what stops working. That should also give you a reasonable idea of the cost to fix. 

This is what's known as an Agile Project Management  

I have nothing to add to the discourse but I hope you get it sorted! 

It’s actually why I’m not allowed to manage projects anymore.

Hoof

Well, they won't be able to register their complaint via email.

dano

It may not be a phone cable, as the four conductors inside it dont look like twisted pairs, and seem a bit large. 

dano

I'mintrigued why they have some much wiring on the outside of the house. Worth checking it's not a CIA rendition house.

ICBM

dano said:

I'mintrigued why they have some much wiring on the outside of the house. Worth checking it's not a CIA rendition house.

You’d know about it by now if you’ve cut a CIA wire. You’d be wearing an orange jumpsuit and trying to make the guards communicate with you.

Barney

Maybe the old cable TV cable..?  ...iff it is that it will probably be redundant anyways 

Sporky

TV cable is coaxial.

Danny1969

It's not signal, that would be coaxial, it's for differential data because that would be twisted. My guess is alarm cable which is also used for other applications. 

VimFuego

if you lick it, is it hurty?