Interesting situation with Cable hook-up need HELP

PlowMe

Honorable
Jan 30, 2013
67
0
10,640
I have a very particular situation and I cannot find anything similar to it on the internet so I'm going to try here for some advice and maybe ask other places if i need to. So when my house was constructed, the builders (or whoever) wired a cable line (or what I believe to be a cable line) to an electrical pole on my property. The pole resides 500 ft from my house. So currently we have AT&T internet and we get about 3.75mbps download and .5mbps upload. With 5 people in the house, 3 of which are very internet busy kids, this is not NEARLY enough bandwidth to fulfill any sort of need when we are all on at the same time. I've called Comcast inquiring about their internet service but they tell us that their service is unavailable in my area. I've checked using their availability checker and other houses on my street have or can have Comcast internet so I know it's offered in my area. My problem then becomes; can I run this cable line the 500ft it needs to go to get to my house and then have comcast come out and install their internet? Basically, I need to know two things. 1. Is this actually a cable line? (black outer shell with copper wire in center) and 2. If it is and I run it to my house, will I be able to receive cable internet? (Comcast in this example) PLEASE any guidance or input or help or anything that will help me come to a resolution is appreciated!
 

Wolfshadw

Titan
Moderator
1) You shouldn't run anything outside you home; especially when your not sure what it is.
2) If Comcast doesn't support your home, no matter what you run, they will not come to your home. Ask to speak to a supervisor and have them explain to you why your home is not supported when others in the neighborhood/same street are.
3) If Comcast rescinds and states they do support your home, then they will come out and they will run the necessary wiring to your home.

-Wolf sends
 
Many times the cable company has a maximum cable distance they will run on private property. So if the problem is your house is just too far from the connection point but you actually own all the land in between you might get them to bring service to the edge of the property and you extend it to the house. You could for example put a cable modem out by the road and then using fiber converters extend the Ethernet from the modem to your house. Sounds simple but you quickly get into how do you keep the equipment dry and get electricity to it and then you need to worry about any regulations the city may have about putting things in your yard.

 

PlowMe

Honorable
Jan 30, 2013
67
0
10,640
I own 10 acres of land and all this line is already on my land. Including this utility pole that has cable line wound up and just hanging off the pole near the bottom. The line comes up through the ground and they've attached the extra to the utility pole just to keep it out of the way. All of this is on my land.
 

BuddhaSkoota

Admirable


"1. Is this actually a cable line? (black outer shell with copper wire in center)" No way to tell without more info. Your description describes both coax and telephone cable. If it's a single copper conductor, then it is most likely coax.

2. If it is and I run it to my house, will I be able to receive cable internet?" Completely up to the cable provider.

It is the utility company's responsibility to install a cable drop to your residence. If they can't provide service, it's for a reason other than not having a drop to your house. If your neighbors have service, then you should continue to inquire and have the issue elevated for resolution.