I have recently phoned telecom and asked them to install a new phone line at a rural property which has been recently built. They informed me it would cost $500 plus a $62 call out fee, which seemed reasonable. They didnt ask any details of the property or tell me i needed to do anything and said they would come around on monday.

The telephone wiring currently goes from the house accross the driveway to the shed/barn and comes out of the ground in a conduit next to the power pole where the power cables come onto the property from the road. This was all completed by the electrician at the time the house was built.

When the chorus man came he noted that the power cable went to a power pole with a transformer on it (obviously it takes power to the house) and that he could not run the cable to that pole as it is against their regulations. He then stated the next power pole on the street was too far away for him to run the cable above ground to it. He then said we would need to dig a trench and he would come back and install the cable then.

My questions being:
1. why dont chorus / telecom do the trenching themselves?
2. Why was this not mentioned when i called up about it ( they just said it was a standard installation fee for all homes and was set. Hardly set if its gona cost me another $2000 to get the trench done for it. Surely they expect it, arent most homes done with underground lead in cables these days.
3. What is the best way for me to get this trenching done or should i put another pole up to bridge the gap between the road and house?