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autowhatsit

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Are the exterior service boxes needed on single family homes?

Are the exterior service boxes needed on single family homes?

I understand what they were used for when cox provided analog cable tv. But, what purpose do they serve now?

We just had new siding installed, and would prefer to not have this big ugly box screwed into it.

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captbill

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One purpose would be to provide a demarcation point for testing.    If the connection would be moved inside (ie:  garage or basement), it could make the difference between a trouble being proven and repaired while you were away from home, or having Cox leave a note saying you'll need to arrange an appointment when you're home  (even if the problem was in the outside loop, since they would have no way of testing end-to-end on that wire without access.)

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autowhatsit

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That makes sense. I expected that they only needed them for the old analog filters. Wish they weren't so big. I wonder why the phone company in our area doesn't require any boxes; lines run off the pole and right into the house at the second floor level.
Thanks for the response.

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captbill

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I'm a retired from AT&T, and those 2nd Floor drops you're describing sound like older loops, or perhaps sided over by the homeowners, and the protectors are actually in the basement, 20 feet below the ram's horn.   35 years ago, we were running backyard feeds directly into an RJ screwed to window sill in CT with no protection at all.   Those days are gone, and now everything gets a properly grounded demarcation point.    ....  These days, you'll also find lots of homes that don't have telephone drops at all, since the CATV companies have won the customer from the TELCO.

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Bruce

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Either analog or digital, the exterior boxes serve the same purpose.  It's the demarcation point between your property and any service provider...not just Cox.  I don't know if the box (Network Interface Unit (NIU)) must be physically attached to your house but it must follow electrical codes for grounding, protection, shielding, surges, etc.

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autowhatsit

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Thanks Bruce. Wish it didn't need to be such a large box to make one connection and a ground wire. It made me laugh to open it up and see that's all that's inside of them anymore.

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