CHORUS - Copper Pole Removal?

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dimsim

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#306247 7-Jul-2023 13:17

Can someone please advise me on the process to see if the poles outside ours and our neighbours houses can be removed/undergrounded at all?

Pretty sure we all now have fibre or 3g/4g services so thinking they are redundant. They're currently purely stringing copper from the street to 2/3 holday homes.

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#3100961 7-Jul-2023 13:26

@ChorusNZ

cddt

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#3100968 7-Jul-2023 13:54

If it's anything like Vector and power poles, if you want or need them undergrounded you'll pay the full price. The quote the buyer of our last house got last year (during due dilligence) was $375k. That is electricity though a different kettle of fish.

quickymart

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#3100973 7-Jul-2023 14:07

Are they wooden poles or...?

Rushmere

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#3100975 7-Jul-2023 14:11

Are your fibre and copper feeds separate? In our area, the poles carry both copper cables and the fibre cables, so the big ugly poles won't become redundant even when no-one is left using copper.

Undergrounding any service is generally expensive everywhere, although $375k does seem extreme! I got a quote from PowerCo in my area to take power cables a distance of just of 1 metre from the pole to the boundary of my property, which was going to cost just over $6k. I would then have to pay an electrician to take it from the boundary to the house and connect it up. I decided it wasn't worth it.

dimsim

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#3100981 7-Jul-2023 14:30

quickymart:

Are they wooden poles or...?

yes, wooden

dimsim

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#3100982 7-Jul-2023 14:31

Rushmere:

Are your fibre and copper feeds separate? In our area, the poles carry both copper cables and the fibre cables, so the big ugly poles won't become redundant even when no-one is left using copper.

Undergrounding any service is generally expensive everywhere, although $375k does seem extreme! I got a quote from PowerCo in my area to take power cables a distance of just of 1 metre from the pole to the boundary of my property, which was going to cost just over $6k. I would then have to pay an electrician to take it from the boundary to the house and connect it up. I decided it wasn't worth it.

Yes, fibre is all underground. The rest of the street is undeground, just these two poles remaining :)

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Behodar

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#3100988 7-Jul-2023 14:40

dimsim:

Pretty sure we all now have fibre or 3g/4g services so thinking they are redundant. They're currently purely stringing copper from the street to 2/3 holday homes.

In my street we had wooden poles (owned by the power company, I believe) with both power and copper. The fibre was always underground, and then the power was moved underground too. Chorus came out and installed new concrete poles for the few houses still on copper.

In other words, if there's still copper to a house or two then don't hold your breath.

dimsim

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#3100990 7-Jul-2023 14:44

Behodar:

dimsim:

Pretty sure we all now have fibre or 3g/4g services so thinking they are redundant. They're currently purely stringing copper from the street to 2/3 holday homes.

In my street we had wooden poles (owned by the power company, I believe) with both power and copper. The fibre was always underground, and then the power was moved underground too. Chorus came out and installed new concrete poles for the few houses still on copper.

In other words, if there's still copper to a house or two then don't hold your breath.

Thanks, Power is all above ground, but at the back of the house (i know odd), these poles are only for copper and its all they have ever have been used for. I know our neighbouors would love to be rid of them also.

Bung

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#3100991 7-Jul-2023 14:47

It looks like a streetlight on the far pole, that won't underground very well.

quickymart

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#3100992 7-Jul-2023 14:57

Most likely they will be Chorus poles then. I can see they've been tagged in here so should be able to tell you more when they respond - but there will be a cost involved.

dimsim

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#3101027 7-Jul-2023 17:00

Bung: It looks like a streetlight on the far pole, that won't underground very well.

HA, yes you're correct.. that one can stay, really just need the copper removed and pole soley used for copper.

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#3101058 7-Jul-2023 19:28

Chorus wooden pole ouside my house is supporting unterminated copper to an underground conduit at my boundary.

Fibre was installed underground on the opposite front corner of my property.

In Nov 2022 a contracter spent over half an hour poking around the pole and adding a new tag.

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#3101064 7-Jul-2023 19:48

Pro Tip: many district plans require utility companies to remove lines and network infrastructure from council land once the infrastructure is no longer in use.

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Wheelbarrow01

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#3101074 7-Jul-2023 20:34

I hate to say it but the white box at the top of the pole looks to be the fibre drop point for your property. If your copper service is/was fed from the top of the pole, then the fibre will have been built to feed the same way, even if other properties on the street have underground lead-ins.

The exact same thing happened at my holiday home - almost the entire street had underground fibre drop-offs installed, however me and my direct neighbour lucked out and ours were installed at the top of the pole outside my property - because that's how the original copper was arranged. The box for mine is visually identical to that seen in your photo.

I could be wrong - and am happy to confirm the fibre drop-off design for your address if you PM me with the address.

If you want a quote to remove/relocate Chorus services, you can fill in the form here: https://www.chorus.co.nz/home-fibre/moving-fibre-equipment/request The URL is misleading - there is a dropdown box to select the type of network involved:

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd