Why would I want to do my own telephone wiring?

Maybe you wouldn't! Then again, maybe you would! Read on to discover the pro's and con's.

Ground Rules The work required to connect additional service to your home falls into two categories: Regulated and Non-regulated. The Network Interface Device (or NID) is where one category stops and the other begins. From the phone company to the NID is regulated work and is covered by the "connection charges" for having new or additional service installed. From the NID to your telephone sets is non-regulated work, and it is completely up to you who and how this work is accomplished. You can have your phone company do it and be charged on a time and material basis. You can have another company (or your neighborhood handy man) do it for you. Or you can "do it yourself".

Maybe you wouldn't! Telephone wiring is not rocket science, but it does often require special tools and materials. A professional technician, whether from your phone company or another company, will probably be better equipped to do a quality job. The cost incurred could be minor compared to the expense of having a botched installation repaired.

Remember one important thing - if you have dial tone at the NID, the phone company has met its regulated obligation to provide service. If your phones don't work because the wiring inside your house is not installed correctly, you can have the phone company send a technician to fix it, but you'll be charged on a time and material basis. If you call the phone company repair service because your telephones are not working and it is determined that the problem is with the wire/equipment on your side of the NID, you will be charged for the service call, even if you don't have the technician repair the problem.

Even if you don't want to do your own wiring, if you know what is required, you will be better equipped to understand what to expect when a technician performs the work for you. You might even discover that little or no work would be needed to add a second line.

Then again, maybe you would! If you are confident in your mechanical abilities and have a decent home tool kit, you can do most if not all of the wiring required inside your home. As with any "do-it-yourself" job, the potential cost savings are significant.

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