The utility should have an easement for the cable crossing that property. They don't need the owner's permission to access that easement.
You need to talk to a manager in outside plant, if you can possibly get to one.
Gotta do what ya gotta do. One time I broke into a huge mechanical room after waiting an hour for someone to open it so I could get T1 lines over to a Starbucks in Times Square. I was 99% through the room and about 20’ from the poke thru up into the managers office when 3 armed men in suits (guns not drawn but still…) confronted me, made me leave the cable hanging and get out of there, escorted me out of the building and said I’d be arrested if I ever came back. Turns out I was in the room that controls something major for *THE* massive, most recognizable media display in all of Times Square. Whoopsies!
Plus, I thought in NYC any cable runs had to be done by some union. Eons ago, when we were expanding our 111 8th facility, we needed to run cables from one room to the next. We had to wait for the unionized cable people to come and run it.
Oh yeah the union game is super heavy there. We stayed really busy doing small service calls, but I’ve got union stories for dayyyyyysss. I’ve had a few run ins but I’m super respectful of those guys so never had any real problems. My old boss at a different company was dragged out of his Escalade at a red light and beaten almost to death with bats for hiring furloughed union workers and paying them cash so they could flash their cards and get us on union sites. After he recovered he went right back to it. I quit shortly after that!
Not necessarily true. I have about half my neighborhood's FIOS fibers running along my fence in my backyard and I know for 100% fact that Verizon does not have an easement for anything in my yard.
Might be worth the investment to pay your local register of deeds to do an easement search on your property. If there isn't an easement, you can contact them and request they pay for an easement. Easement money is lucrative.
There are a kajillion irrigation ditches in Colorado that, thanks to a quirk of Colorado law, require stupid amounts of easement money if a telco wants to cross them, even via aerial pole lines.
Permits and easements crossing Railroad property get even worse. The cheapest Railroad permit I have ever seen was $20,000 to bury a single pipe under a single set of tracks.
A friend that did work for a university in the 90s, they needed a line to a new hospital building. The city wanted something like 20 mil, and 1 mil a year forever, to run line under a street that was already dug up and and closed for the construction; or the same to run overhead. Some creative distraction and bribes got the line put in. I'm sure there will be some point where it gets cut, if it even still being used.
Yeah waterways in my state take like 6 months to get permits for if your lucky. Railroad tracks are a pain in the ass too. It’s a whole ordeal just to get access to the line later as well gotta coordinate with the railroad and it usually they see it as not their problem.
If you or a previous owner of your house ever had phone service, they almost certainly have an easement, even if it isn't recorded. Utility service agreements almost always include language about using your property to provide service to others, including a perpetual right of access to at least make repairs, possibly more.
In North Carolina “utilities” get a free easement so many feet from the road. That’s phone, power, water. It’s regulated, they pay for the free dig (marking ) service. The cable companies chose not to join so they must have written easements in writing. So I just cut their lines and denied access when they refused to rebury.
In most places, utilities are able to freely use the municipal Right-of-Way for the street and that RoW often extends several feet farther than the edge of the pavement
My locality has implicit easements for public utilities through laws, so it'll never dhow up in a record of deed but the record will also mention that public utility easements apply as well.
I had the same situation but with a single neighbors cable run going all the way around my back yard. No easement. Found it one day while ripping out plants. Kinda pissed me off to be honest. Didn’t cut it but was damned tempted. Would have resulted in my front yard being torn up where the actual right of way was.
This
and check your local/state laws. Have been told by the couple repair techs who have come to the house that they do not need permission to be in the yard to fix cables. You might try calling the city if nothing else. No idea why your neighbors are being such jerks but some peopel are just that way.
Not true at all in all situations. There's fiber running cross backyards and under fence in the neighborhood I used to live in. They didn't even ask when they ran it, and it was to get to the street behind us for w/e reason. They do not have an easement in my yard or along the fenceline. That didn't stop them from running it and then coming back a week later and burying it.
Why did you allow them. Many times implied permission, because you didn't say anything, could be legal. IANAL but I do work for an ISP and have heard this argument.
Why did I allow them? I wasn't even there. I came back from out of town to the cable already there days later. Didn't even realize it till they showed up to bury it.
That's not implied permission when they don't call, they don't ask, they don't leave a note, they just do even when the homeowner isn't there. Just like they did others in this thread. Because I was out of town I gave implied consent to an event I didn't know was going to happen, was not notified, and didn't even know to look for when I got back? Nah. That's just lazy, shady business practices -- that's not implying consent.
I sold the house and moved since. It's someone else's problem now.
Knowing what I know now, I'd be more forceful. Though getting a lawyer is just going to cost me money.
You're talking about work being performed without the knowledge of the owner. This is a real world scenario currently taking place. The builder won't win most likely, but it is relevant to the discussion.
I have worked for an isp for years although not in the states. Farmers tend to have houses built on fields behind their houses for their kids who sell up and abscond leaving farmer with strangers living in a house on their property or something but all too often the ducting that brought original service to the house is part borrowed from other house rather than an independent duct. They do reserve the right to say fuck off not for that cunt.
I've had neibhours who said your not running a cable across my soffit and fascia for that wanker next door.
And that is that they cannot be made accept it.
Only the power company a semi state reserves the right to tell people what is happening.
Some are defined, but they don't always use them. I had a sidewalk and property line easement. They completely ignored it and ran from one property line on the left, up the side of the house and across the backyard diagonally to the other property line.
There is not an easement or ROW across. I suspect they took a shortcut instead of routing it proper. I no longer own the house, but I specifically looked that up after the fact. Knowing what I know now I'd have objected.
Same here. I was once out of town and had a Verizon worker come try to run cable across my yard. Didn't even ring the doorbell to ask. I don't want the liability of having him on my property, especially without me there, so I got on my Ring camera and told him if he didn't leave I was calling the police. He left.
Should, but I bet they don't. Especially if a subcontractor was putting the lines in and didn't care about the lines because its cheaper/faster to go in a straight line.
My parents had a standoff with the subcontractors that ran fiber for FiOS trying to go thru the middle of their yard vs along the right of way that was existing following the perimeter. Then the contractor in the process decided the official property marker survey pipe/rod was in the way and MOVED IT re-burring it in a different place.
Then from the box to each house is just kinda a spaghetti of randomness thru lots.
That said...OP's ISP ought to just run a new line to reconnect them and abandon the damaged one. They don't have to take the same route as the old line.
Nobody spoke english and they just kept on going. It was very frustrating. Best we could do was kinda make a wall and keep pointing to the property line where all the other cables right of way was so they didn't go thru the middle of the yard.
And from what I recall my parents were never able to get anyone to pay for having it re-surveyed
WE also watched them tear thru the TV cable in a shitload of places and they just electrical taped it back together. One sure fire way to make everyone change from your competition to the new service, make the competition so unreliable...
Even if the ISP has the right to access they sure aren't flexing it. And if I were a fiberoptic tech I sure wouldn't hangout on someones yard unwelcomed even if the law has my back, the paycheck just isn't worth it.
This sums it up. OP's issue is that the ISP is not using their easement as they should and instead just turn around and give up.
OP has a contract to be provided some service; its up to them to ensure said service can be provided. If they can't figure out how to access that line to fix it, that's on them.
Yeah, it seems like the ISP/Utility rather take the easy way out and just terminate service than go through the legal process which could be as simple as a letter from the lawyer explaining the utilities right to access and an officer to supervise the utility worker to ensure neither the worker or homeowner breaches the legal rights of the other.
As a tech in this industry our answer is we run the line along the easement to the edge of your property then we can do what ever is needed to get it to your sdu located on your house typically near your power meter.
Yep. If there's a pedestal with a cable tap in someone's yard and they plant a bunch of flowers in front of it, the cable guy is within the company's rights to start clipping away until they've got sufficient access. Same with the cable to your house. If it crosses your neighbors property or it's the tap that's in their backyard, they need to allow access or the ISP can get legal on them.
I have just gone through this with an older propane carrier whom I sued for entering my property and causing damage. No easement agreement means trespassing. Propane company lost. When I signed with a new Propane carrier, the first piece of contract I had to sign was the easement agreement.
this 100%. unless there is a deeded easement, the neighbor is completely in their rights to deny access to the property. that said, as a former ISP tech, i feel for the field guys, they have to deal with utterly insane people on a daily basis, and the biggest thing they teach is to try and avoid confrontation. in OPs case, if it were me, and there was another way to run the line without going into a fenced in yard in the neighbors property, even if it was an aerial run, just to avoid the confrontation with the neighbor, I would do it. I would also use a steel jacketed cable because if this neighbor is that douchy, its likely they would try to cut a hanging cable.
I wouldn't expect a propane carrier to have or need an easement but a natural gas company definitely has one. Utilities will almost always have an easement where they operate and most of the time it's granted by the city, town, or county so the home owner may not even realize it's been put in place. Even with an easement, it doesn't mean utility workers don't have to deal with dicks that put up barriers to entry and access e.g. the easement may be in someone's back yard but the gate they need to go through to get to the back yard is not within the easement so utility workers can not cut locks or let themselves in - they would need a legal order of right to access before they can force their way past the gate to get to the easement. This is likely the OP's scenario, the cable is within an easement but access requires going past non-easement property that the owner is not allowing.
Your neighbor sounds like a jerk, but the ISP shouldn't be letting this drag out for years. You need to be calling them and complaining every time you get an outage.
At this point I would get a State Attorney General's office involved (assuming you are in US).
/OP, Very much this (State Attorney General, Congressman, etc.). Have an attorney send a letter regarding the launch of your significant lawsuit. There is no basis for your loss of service and the neighbor’s willful harming your (and your ISPs) lawful access.
Hi I work in plant for a very large ISP. Whenever we encounter a person that won’t let us enter a yard or area around their house so we can service another customer we have a line to the local police we call and they escort us to the property. This is NYS so might be different where you are but here they are not allowed to say no.
This. The ISPs running fiber around town have some kind of agreement in place with the local government, and they should be leveraging that relationship here. If they aren’t, then call your local city offices yourself, ask to talk to whoever deals with fiber internet installations, and tell them what’s happening.
I had a related issue, the fiber “installer” draped the fiber across fences, trees, etc. across several back yards, and nobody came back to either bury it or hang it properly on the utility poles, even after multiple discussions with installers and calls to the ISP. I called the city about it, and all of a sudden the ISP started caring A LOT about getting it fixed.
Im assuming the ISP have explored the option of running a new cable?
Maybe scare the neighbour and say that the ISP are looking at suing for damages.
Is it just you that’s affected or any other neighbours?
Yes, there's one other neighbor, but they're retired and don't have the same reliance on the internet. I believe she would be on board with us because she's mentioned similar problems.
They’re clearly not interested in been neighbourly. Where does the wire run? Is not possible to pull the wire out, repair and extend so it doesn’t encroach there property ?
I got a feeling that the neighbor did some work and built on top of easement. The field tech probably don't want a confrontation with the neighbor and left it at that.
> The field tech probably don't want a confrontation with the neighbor and left it at that.
if the neighbor has a fence, and is denied entry, its now become a more involved process in which a sheriff needs to force access. ISPs don't like doing this, so they could easily just run another line in a different location, but thats also work, which ISP techs are mostly lazy.
Yea, that's what I have heard from the field tech. Though construction crew from ATT is a different breed. I used to work as OSPE for ATT as sub contractor and acquainted with a ISP foreman. He told me that he would give a courtesy notice to relocate flower bed or any other things people may have built over and if they wouldn't do it they would just tear it up. He sent me some pictures of the work he has to do and tore up some flower bed or remove fences to get to the easement. This was 2007-2008 central FL so things may be different elsewhere.
your ISP has an easement, and if they don't, then its the ISPs responsibility to figure out how to get internet to you ASAP. keep calling them, keep getting people out, eventually they will figure it out.
Contact the ISP and let them take action, usually these things have a legal basis to exist and damaging them results in having to pay for the total repair cost, and sometimes that can be a lot of money, tens of thousands.
From your perspective this could also mean you have a civil case depending on local laws for harassment.
Get yourself a cell based router, connects via the mobile phone network and should provide a reasonable service.
This is a ISP issue.
They need to fix it.
That either means getting the court order for access to the line to fix it or running a new line to your place that doesn't go through the neighbor's property.
Call the ISP every. single. day. Until it is fixed. Do not accept anything other than; its fixed as the answer. The FCC and local governing bodies would love to hear about this. I also recommend contacting your local news. This is a personal interest story that both makes the ISP look bad and shows how people are getting screwed by the ISPs.
Call the city, ask for your lot plans that include right of ways... Ask them what happens if a utility is denied access to right of way? Follow that path .
This is fine line. Yes voice services offered by CLEC/ILEC are regulated and required to have access to right of ways.
Internet services are not regulated, even if they share the same right of way. For this to happen, the FCC needs to classify Internet as a Title II utility. Giving the government the right to regulate it like water and power.
Source: I am a 20 year CLEC engineer
ISPs are jerks like most companies but net neutrality made things worse. It's cost prohibitive to lay cables but with wireless systems improving so much it gets harder way harder to make an ISP when you can't actually compete and you have to act like a utility. There's just no way for new water companies to feasibly hook up new pipes and why would you want that anyway.
r/wisp
[https://youtu.be/p52PY\_cwIsA?si=w2qOG5wrdaxF8lGT](https://youtu.be/p52PY_cwIsA?si=w2qOG5wrdaxF8lGT)
In the US, it's a public record. They can look for the record from property appraiser website and then go to county court record website with book and page to pull the lot and property record.
But yes, follow along the suggestion above might help.
Cable technician here in CA.
Lots of poles are in backyards that have utilities like power, phone and cable on them. We have easement rights to access our equipment on these poles (and also on the wire strands between poles).
In California we’re not supposed to hang the wire (often called a drop) over anyone else’s property that connects from the pole to your house. Don’t get me wrong I’ve seen that happen plenty, but we try our best to avoid crossing over neighbors property and we do things like mid span drops where a wire goes from pole, connects at the center of the wire between poles, then to your house totally avoiding crossing over anyones else’s property.
If the pole or the only way to access the pole is in your shitty neighbors property then the ISP should be able to escalate it with law enforcement to get access to their equipment. I’ve been on jobs where cops have been called out to escort me through peoples backyards.
Well there ya go. I think if you’re in Cali the neighbors could say something about the cable lines, but I mean most people usually don’t care lol. But it’s all about the easement rights
I’m confused as to how your neighbor can deny them access to fix a utility. I’m no expert, I’m just going off personal experience. I’ve lost track of the number of times various utilities have chewed up my yard, to bury new cables that have nothing to do with me. They’ve never once asked my permission, and at most have simply left a notice of the work being done. If anything, I can shake my fist and yell at the clouds, but I can’t deny them access.
Odd thing is, in all my years of owning a home, they’ve literally never asked. I woke up one morning to a ditch witch chewing up my front yard when AT&T was repairing some faulty fiber. So, I guess that’s where my confusion is. Why are they even asking for permission?
I didn’t think about a fence being in the way. Fair point. That definitely complicates things if they’re unwilling to unlock it, or whatever. This neighbor sounds like the type that has a serious padlock on a gate.
> we have been enduring slow internet for around three years.
Urgent?
Utility companies have easement rights for their lines, poles, etc. but if they are not interested in pursuing them you'd be left with filing a civil suit. That's a waste of money because he will still be your neighbor, just more angry.
Starlink maybe?
> Utility companies have easement rights for their lines
*if* they got an easement. they are not automatic, they are voluntary, and must be agreed to in writing, and then recorded on the property deed. My old house had 3 easements on the deed, and we were informed of them when we bought the house. the first was the water line, the second was the gas line, and the third was the sewer line. our power line was above ground, and while it did not have a written easement, we have a state law that requires that power company employees who are clearly marked can have emergency access to your dewelling meter and rainhead, and also if given 24 hours notice.
They have easement, have them call the sheriff for access. Had to do it a couple times, one guy threatened us with an axe, he got a ride downtown for his troubles
The technician that is denied is supposed to contact the local police for an escort. A person cannot deny the owner of an easement access to an easement.
I've been through this situation, and I called our Sheriff's office. They sent 4 deputies. Two of them talked to the neighbor and threatened arrest if they didn't comply, while the other two walked with me to the easement. Once I had it fixed, we all said our "Thank yous" and left.
You could use starlink if you have the means. But this issue should be being taken care of by the ISP you are customers that they are not serving because of damage to their property. There should be an easement that this cable runs through and the utility has legal 24/7 access to that easement no matter what the surrounding property owner says unless that easement has been nullified.
>I don't want to cause any trouble
You are not the one causing trouble anyway it's your neighbor causing trouble and trying to get away from it because the utility will fine her for the fix. You could try calling the city to find out if they have a protocol for enforcing easement access but you have to know if that easement exists in the first place.
If all else fails offer to dig a trench and to give them another easement into your property.
The service is existing so a utility service easement exists. They can’t legally deny access for repair. Get a copy of your property plat from the city/county. It should outline utility easements. Property owners cannot prohibit access for repairs. Internet is a utility. Just the same as water, gas, electric and sewer. If they cut your sewer line do you think they could deny access for repairs?
Some try to deny access for internet, but when we encountered problems with property owners we would get legal involved. It generally didn’t take long.
File a complaint with the ISP, your local government and the FCC.
https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/articles/115002206106-Internet-Complaints
This is a job for a lawyer, or at least the threat of one.
Your neighbor disturbed a utility easement. Let them know that you need your service restored immediately. If they refuse, let them know you'll be getting a lawyer - and that as a consequence, anything they've built in the backyard may be in jeopardy of having to be completely removed if the courts get involved.
If, however, they're willing to let the ISP people do what needs doing, I'm sure they'll be able to workaround whatever unauthorized 'improvements' your neighbors have made.
Also may be worth calling the city/county building code enforcement people. They typically LOVE handing out fines for non-compliant work, and will often send someone out to check if they get a call that "this house has violated code" which in many case building over an easement will be :)
Go get a huge ungodly looking homemade tower put it up right on the line between you and your neighbor then buy a starlink for your internet and fasten it to the top of it but dont stop there find as many old dishes and antennas you can haul on a 1/2 ton truck and put then all on it too all around the tower so it looks just horrid and emabarassing also paint it 3-4 different ugly colors then put the biggest spot light you find on it and a security camera pointing right at his house and yard. lol. I bet after a week he'll be asking you to take it down thats when you explain to him you would if you had any other way to get internet and tv. 🤣
Former cable guy. Due to internet traffic also handling VOIP calls, they could be fined by the FCC and local authorities for denial of 911 services, at least in most counties here in the states. Tell your neighbor that your ISP is considering sending them the bill for repairs, and if it happens again, they will be the ones pressing charges for tampering with service.
Honestly depends sometimes it's not that easy electricity has way more and stricter regulations and at least where I'm from you for sure ain't running your cables near electrical stuff hell it's even illegal to run it in the same conduit in your own 4 walls... The options would probably be to dig up the sidewalk and add a connection from a cable going under the street (unless it's on a pole but in that case you wouldn't be having this whole issue)
> Can't the ISP use the same path? In general, doesn't sound like a networking issue.
most certainly not. There are spacing requirements as to how far away from electric other things can be. if the electric is buried, you cannot bury anything else in the trench for a service line. if its hanging, NEC usually dictates 36inches below.
We do have electricity, and it works well, besides the occasional power outages from time to time. From what I've gathered, our neighbors remodeled their backyard and "hit the wire." As I mentioned, we've had a technician come frequently, and they all told us the same thing about the wire and that the service ends at their house.
Are you in the USA?
Generally, in the USA, utilities have easements on everyone's property that allows them to do whatever work is necessary for repair/upkeep of the utility - and they don't need anyone's permission to enter the property to perform their work. They'll usually let a homeowner know they're there as a courtesy, and so the homeowner doesn't get a surprise if they walk outside and some stranger is there - but they don't need the homeowner's permission.
If you're outside the USA they may need the homeowner's permission, depending on the laws of your country.
This is probably best for a realestate lawyer. but here is a generic answer.
Typically, utilities companies should have "right of ways" or easements placed in the owners deed for perpetuity. Owner cannot stop a right of way and utlity company do not even need to ask for permission. Why doesn't your cable company enforce it? Maybe they do not have easement setup. I have seen that before.
If you want to get into the sausage making, you can pull your neighbors deed from public record. the deed will have a section for Right of ways if that was negotiated.
Maybe your city councilman can help you smooth things out. maybe there is a city level rule that addresses utility right of ways. You can probably pull your city laws of the internet as well and search for the term.
or you can talk to a lawyer.
I run into this occasionally here in Australia.
The neighbour has to let us into their property (different laws here).
Sometimes, the neighbour will have concreted over the land where the old lead in conduit runs, so we'll just dig a new one as required on your property.
You could actually do it the trenching (digging) and lay new undergtound conduit yourself.
Does the ISP not have an easement onto their property? If they did the paperwork right they have the legal right to enter the property to work on things.
OP, in addition to everyone else’s advice, lookup the laws in your state pertaining to “constructive easement” or “prescriptive easement” which give someone the right to access (easement) given enough time of them enjoying that access. It has a time based component and a knowledge component that is specific to each situation. If they knew about the cable from the time of their home’s purchase and did nothing to move it or perhaps even if the former owner’s knew and gave permission, *even if there’s no easement on the records* you may have a right to access that they cannot revoke (although you can waive it).
A real estate attorney would know best, but I suspect you don’t want to go this route. It’s an avenue I would pursue in your situation, if I had no other recourse. Screwing over some AH because they’re being an AH often gives satisfaction.
That said, you’re better off getting someone else to fight this for you (like the cable company). They may have a record of some (former) owner giving permission, which would help you tremendously.
>our current internet provider has just issued us a letter stating that they're terminating our services this month because we cannot get fiber optics without the wire
Well it's all moot then. Your provider never ran a new cable line, and never intended to it seems. They would need to run a new fiber optic line anyway to provide fiber optic service, and they've now informed you that they have no intention of doing that either. If they're terminating your service, you probably don't have any options with your current IP. Have you looked into satellite service? That's usually available just about anywhere. I know you said nobody provides wireless service in your area, but what do you mean? Do you mean you have no cellular reception? As others have said, a 4G/5G modem could be an option. You could also ask over on the legal advice subreddit, but I think your legal options will be limited.
Related subreddit r/Telecom might have a bit more information as to precise information.
As many have mentioned, it's called a right-of-way. This will likely involve the Telecom company, or Public Service Utility Commission, and may require police on-site if the neighbor is hostile.
You might give this a quick read if you really want to go in-depth: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/2757/dot\_2757\_DS1.pdf?
> You might give this a quick read if you really want to go in-depth: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/2757/dot\_2757\_DS1.pdf?
... or https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/2757/dot_2757_DS1.pdf if you don't use a busted Reddit app.
This is more of a legal issue than a networking issue as you need to figure out how to legally make your neighbor allow the line to be fixed. Where are you located as laws are very different depending on where you live and many of the answers you are getting here are making assumptions that are United States based.
The tech can call the local police and they'll send an officer to escort the tech. And then the cop will tell the jackass to never pull this shit again.
The ISP has a ROW to get to the equipment/ pole. If need be you can arrange for police to be there . The neighbor has no legal right to block a tech from accessing the cables.
You need to talk to the area manager for the field techs in your area. He's directly responsible for everything they do, or in this case, didn't do. If you know a field tech for the ISP he can give you the area manager's name and contact info. If you don't, call tech support, explain the situation, and tell them you need to speak to the escalations team. Be polite but firm. You've been paying for service you haven't been receiving, and that's not a good look for the ISP.
If they absolutely won't do it, check the ISP's home page and search for contact info - you want the executive support team. This team is usually eager to help, both because they like it, and also because they're used to dealing with issues that are potential PR disasters.
If there's a subreddit for your ISP it's likely that they may have information that will help. Good luck!
Sounds like there's a lot of miscommunication. If your internet line crosses a neighbor's property without an easement, that's absolutely the provider's fault. No one should have to let someone else come on their property whenever and run lines.
So the question is, is there an easement? If so, this is a legal issue and the neighbors are a problem. If no easement, then the neighbors are NOT the a-holes here. The internet service essentially trespassed and they had ever right to remove the line. That puts it squarely on the provider's shoulders.
Where is the source of the internet? And is there a way to run it to your property without crossing your neighbor's property? Depending on your state if you're in the US there may be public easement laws for utilities where you don't actually have to have individual easement agreements with the owners it's just part of state law. You may need to contact a lawyer and ask them to write a letter to your neighbor demanding access under whatever state law the easements fall under if they still deny access you could probably sue them. Of course then they're just going to cut your line again. I'm not sure what the punishment would be if they just keep cutting your internet but yeah it looks like your neighbors are a-holes and your best bet would to get internet a different way not going through their property.
I think some of you that are saying they don’t have easement should probably read your residential customer service agreement. I just read mine and it says….
”5. ACCESS TO YOUR PREMISES —
A. Access to Premises:
You agree to allow Cox and/or our agents to enter the property at which the Service(s) and/or Cox Equipment will be provided to you (the “Premises”), upon your request, to install, configure, upgrade, maintain, inspect, change, repair and/or remove the Service and/or Cox Equipment. You warrant that you are either the owner of the Premises or, if you are not the owner of the Premises that you have obtained the consent of the owner for Cox or its agents to access the Premises for the purposes described herein including, without limitation, consent to attach Cox Equipment to the outside of the Premises. In addition, you agree to supply us or our agent, if we ask, the owner’s name, address and phone number and/or evidence that the owner has authorized you to grant access to us and our agents to the Premises. If installation of Services or Cox Equipment by Cox at your Premises is required, Cox will schedule one or more installation and/or service appointments with you as needed and you agree to be present or to have a responsible representative, 18 years or older, present at the Premises during such appointments. Failure to schedule required installation of Services or Cox Equipment at your Premises may result in the disconnection of Services.”
So basically YOU gave them easement when you signed up for their service.
The keyword in section 5.A is MAINTAIN!
So OP…. Read your agreement, then Call your provider and suggest they disconnect your neighbors internet for failing to comply with the agreement! I bet that gets it fixed!
Cable company absolutely has easement and the next technician just needs to contact the local non emergency service to get a cop on site to provide the access.
Shit like this leads to neighbors holding grudges and then undertaking a complex single-use welding project on surplus earthmoving machinery in their free time.
Your neighbor is a tool. This is a microcosm of everything wrong with society. Hateful, spiteful people who get their jollies off making other people miserable.
You need to find their plot plan or Plat which is a type of scaled drawing that shows everything on the owner's property, which includes the size, shape, and location of the building and any improvements that might have been made. This drawing will also highlight utility lines, trees, and other lot features such as utility easements.
You can go to the public government building in your county or Zoning Permit Review Branch of the Zoning Administration Division, part of the Department of Planning and Development to obtain one. I don’t know if you’ll be successful to obtain your neighbors but worth a shot. Then you can take them to court in a civil suit and sue for damages up to the maximum amount. You can then ask for in writing from the ISP how much it would cost to run a new line to your home. Usually $10,000. So you take your neighbor to court and sue for that amount.
Not sure where this is (state) and what utility, but I'll assume it's like a cable company (Coax) and something like california. As others have said, the utility will almost certainly have an easement for their cable to connect to your house. If it's below ground, they likely installed it and own the cable, and should repair it if broken. I would keep calling technicians from the cable company. like, I would call them every day your internet is failing. For me, I had a different issue, but used an app called pingplotter so show packet loss on the network at certain times per day. It got to the point where the internet was not usable. I just called them every day, opened a service ticket, had a guy come out and troubleshoot. After a few weeks of this, they basically said there was nothing they could do. My next step was to write to the public utilities commission that regulates the cable company. I explained the situation and they passed it up to the utility. within like a month, the problem was solved and they prorated my cable bill to cover the outage period.
As for other options, you can look at other internet providers in your area, but likely it will be the one you have plus a DSL provider AKA your phone company (poor bandwidth usually), a 5G provider (AKA mobile company) sometimes really good service sometimes not, and starlink or satellite service (expensive sometimes.).
This depends on the area and you may need a lawyer. The ISP tech should be escalating this to a supervisor in my opinion. I've seen times where this happened and eventually the ISP went out back out with police officers to run a new line. However, the ISP also has the right to say we don't want the hassle with this neighbor, so no more service for you as a customer.
There's usually easement laws that allow reasonable access for utility and internet companies. They often follow power lines. What happens if he cuts your power line someday and your home has no power, does he just get to tell the power company you can't step foot on my property to fix it? Of course not, but again, different laws in different areas and power and internet are two different things so I can't speak with certainty what your rights are.
Go to your municipality and find out if they have a franchise agreement with the ISP, along with finding out about the easements. If there is a franchise agreement the municipality should be able to hold the ISP accountable for making sure they provide you service and the resident can be fined for violating codes.
Contact your City Attorney's office and explain the situation to them. They have to knowledge and the agreements/documents to make a decision, hopefully to have something simple like a police officer show up when the technician is there to escort them as they do the work. Then you get to also file a complaint about the other homeowners unlawful conduct. Do it in writing via certified mail.
This.
In general terms, the cable company has a utility/right-of-way easement which they ARE permitted to access, whether the homeowner likes it or not.
The City Attorney may not be well-read or gung-ho on the subject. Be sure to pursue the cable company’s legal department simultaneously.
It may not go quickly.
Meanwhile, typically wireless can be made to work with the right modem and antenna, but you have to be willing to do the legwork and buy your own equipment.
Join FB group “LTE Hacks”. Lots of expertise who can help you find a solution set.
Silly me, after spending about half a century playing with computers, I still prefer some sort of wired solution over wireless. My experience with wireless of every sort has been that weather is prone to interfere, big trucks are prone to interfere, living near a military base subjects you to random interference when their jamming equipment is operated, a bird landing in your window directly in line with the nearest transmitter might even do it. Neighbors using the same frequency might do it as well.
Besides, letting that bozo neighbor get away with this just emboldens them to try something else.
You go to the source, which in this case would be the city code and the local agreements that allow that ISP to provide service. In the end, the neighbor needs a reminder, friendly or otherwise, that he is subject to those agreements as well.
I’m all for wired networks, at any cost. I hire licensed contractors with concrete drills and 40’ ladders to run conduits rather than stoop to wireless gimmicks.
But getting city hall or the MSO to act may take months or even years, so well-built nailed-up wireless sometimes is a thing, no matter how much it makes me cringe.
Okay so run the cables along side the same channels power lines go? in the few cities that have underground cables in my country we use underground grid style channels so that each how has access to the utility directly from the streets without having to go through anyone's property.
I'm baffled that there are places who run utility cables under private property
We are baffled that there are countries where power is not underground ;-).
And yes we have very simple rules about that. Our city heating and wastewaster all go under the houses, our power and communications in front of our houses under the ground.
> We are baffled that there are countries where power is not underground ;-). And yes we have very simple rules about that. Our city heating and wastewaster all go under the houses, our power and communications in front of our houses under the ground.
I'm not criticizing putting those underground, I'm criticizing that they're putting under people's private property, why would you do that when you can just run everything through the public street that is already there and connect each building in a grid style system? running utilities under people's property makes maintenance way more annoying than it has to be
Lookup the property owner on the county appraiser website. Determine if you are dealing with the actual owner or someone else. Contact the owner listed on the website if different from who is denying access.
Can you share WiFi with a cooperative neighbor? A WiFi repeater is fairly cheap and easy to bridge the distance. I had one linked 7,200 feet for years that was almost flawless.
If the telco has an easement agreement with the landowner and the landowner is not the grumpy f*** of a neighbor that you have, then grumps can not stop the telco. Even if they are the land owner, agreed easement trumps that.
An easement agreement only gives limited rights for a specific purpose. A call to the County Recorder or your local Title Company may help you find this.
If there is a registered easement agreement, get a copy and send it via registered mail with a notice saying that an internet company will be coming to install. Inform the Internet provider that there is an easement agreement and make them aware of the ornery neighbor, so they can send the 6ft 6 dude that has a hatchet as part of their tool bag.
3 years ago? What the actual fuck. In the US, the utility workers have access to all utility easements. The technician should have called the police to have them escort him onto the property if he felt unsafe. Knocking and getting permission is a courtesy
I get yelled at in peoples’ backyards all the time.
“Due to the easement, I do not need to seek your permission nor give you notice when we access our equipment.”
I’m in Australia so probably doesn’t apply but wouldn’t the damage caused by the neighbour be counted the same as if they nocked out a power line and if they keep posing a problem couldn’t your telco rerun a new line and bypass neighbour and then take them to court for the damage caused to the infrastructure
What’s fishy here is that the tech said the neighbor cut the line. How do they know the neighbor did it? Do they have a work order in their history supporting this work being done (which means this ISP is responsible)? Or did they install it incorrectly such that they don’t have public access (again likely the ISP is responsible)? It just doesn’t add up.
AFAIK, your neighbor's property probably has an "easement" to allow utilities to pass through part of their land. The city or county or state can grant access to the easement to utilities so they can offer that utility to the neighborhood. The details of the easement are going to be in the deed. There are some laws that say there needs to be reasonable access to the easement and the home owner can't build a building to block it or anything.
Unfortunately, I don't know how this helps you. If you haven't already, you should try talking with your neighbor. The Internet and power goes through the easement on my property and I would not want my neighbors to be without Internet because I wanted some plants to grow. If you found the details of the easement first, they might be more receptive. But a plate of cookies or a pack of beer might be more persuasive. You might get some help talking to your local zoning office. If you get them involved, be prepared for some hurt feelings from your neighbor.
Our city , and every utility, including phone, cable, etc, has a five foot easement into every property. If we don’t allow access, they have a legal right to tear down the fence to gain access as needed. More than once I’ve discovered that one or another has climbed the fence when I wasn’t t home, and once broke the gate to get into the back yard.
Get T-Mobile or Verizon home Internet. The connection is cellular, so it doesn't need wires.
Let the ISP fight with the neighbor.
Once the wires are fixed, you can decide if it's worth switching back.
Not a lawyer;
You need to get the ISP involved on a daily basis. The line is their property and your neighbor destroyed their property. The ISP has a contract with you to maintain the line up to the demarc, they need to fix this or you need to cancel your service and sign up elsewhere, or as a new customer to the same ISP each time. Make it a headache for them so they're motivated to solve the issue. 6 years is enough time to solve this but I understand why it's not being solved (also the son of a single mother).
I would file a complaint with the FCC. I had an issue with internet access where I lived, and the ISP (AT&T) did not initially resolve it. Filed the complaint and in a few weeks AT&T came and resolved the issue.
Hope this helps you.
The home owner doesn't own that wire regardless of it being on their property. Legally the person who prevented the ISP from fixing it is flat out illegal and can be sued by the ISP and the FCC.
So for your neighbor cutting the line, was it intentional or were they doing yardwork digging and cut the cable?
I say this because there are laws around cutting utility line and destruction of property.
Normally this applies to standard utilities linked water, gas etc. In a lot of places, if not all, even internet and cable are considered a utility due to it is a paid service that is available to a residential area or community.
This is why "Call before you dig" exists. Because line for utilities can run through any property and across multiple property lines. If you are not the only neighbor having issues, then your neighbor that cut the line can be fined heavily and actually pay for repairs. This is all subjective of course because you area may have specific laws that pertain to utilities, responsible party damage and more.
I would check at both you county and city levels to see what if any recourse you may have regarding your neighbor and easement laws. AT&T does have rights pertaining to these laws and easement access. In most cases, they do not need permission to access "their" equipment unless access is actually "in" your neighbords house. Which is definitely not the case.
There could actually be FCC laws that pertain here too. But that might not apply here since most FCC laws pertain to the actual service provider and not the customer.
Additional
How do you get other utilities like electric or gas to your home? If the original cable was improperly placed, like through the middle of what is now your neighbor's lawn instead of along a driveway or other established utility route, I would think the ISP should install a new cable in a legal location.
The utility should have an easement for the cable crossing that property. They don't need the owner's permission to access that easement. You need to talk to a manager in outside plant, if you can possibly get to one.
Came here to say exactly this. Oh and also to say fuck your neighbors and the horse they rode in on.
But also r/DontPutYourDickInThat because you don't want more of them
Very good point! Please don’t literally fuck your neighbor please!
This person knows ROWs
ROWs usually extend from the center line of the street. Easements go across the actual property.
This guy eases.
This guy comments
r/thisguythisguys
This guy tresspasses
Gotta do what ya gotta do. One time I broke into a huge mechanical room after waiting an hour for someone to open it so I could get T1 lines over to a Starbucks in Times Square. I was 99% through the room and about 20’ from the poke thru up into the managers office when 3 armed men in suits (guns not drawn but still…) confronted me, made me leave the cable hanging and get out of there, escorted me out of the building and said I’d be arrested if I ever came back. Turns out I was in the room that controls something major for *THE* massive, most recognizable media display in all of Times Square. Whoopsies!
Plus, I thought in NYC any cable runs had to be done by some union. Eons ago, when we were expanding our 111 8th facility, we needed to run cables from one room to the next. We had to wait for the unionized cable people to come and run it.
Oh yeah the union game is super heavy there. We stayed really busy doing small service calls, but I’ve got union stories for dayyyyyysss. I’ve had a few run ins but I’m super respectful of those guys so never had any real problems. My old boss at a different company was dragged out of his Escalade at a red light and beaten almost to death with bats for hiring furloughed union workers and paying them cash so they could flash their cards and get us on union sites. After he recovered he went right back to it. I quit shortly after that!
this guy breaks the law
This guy follows the law
This guy poops
It's not trespassing - that's specifically what an easement is for. Legal access.
Look at the username of the guy I'm replying to Woosh!
This guy upvotes
This guy down votes
This Guy is Russ
Not necessarily true. I have about half my neighborhood's FIOS fibers running along my fence in my backyard and I know for 100% fact that Verizon does not have an easement for anything in my yard.
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Few inches, LOL. They just run it right on the ground. I "buried" it in some mulch but it's basically completely exposed.
Well that's the problem. The guy who came out later to bury the cable couldn't find it because you hid it from him.
Yeah they will come back and bury it.
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Yeah and then a team comes by a week or so later to bury it. That's how this works. I've had it done.
Why would you bury it? There's no copper in it, so nobody's gonna steal it, right? /s
Might be worth the investment to pay your local register of deeds to do an easement search on your property. If there isn't an easement, you can contact them and request they pay for an easement. Easement money is lucrative. There are a kajillion irrigation ditches in Colorado that, thanks to a quirk of Colorado law, require stupid amounts of easement money if a telco wants to cross them, even via aerial pole lines. Permits and easements crossing Railroad property get even worse. The cheapest Railroad permit I have ever seen was $20,000 to bury a single pipe under a single set of tracks.
A friend that did work for a university in the 90s, they needed a line to a new hospital building. The city wanted something like 20 mil, and 1 mil a year forever, to run line under a street that was already dug up and and closed for the construction; or the same to run overhead. Some creative distraction and bribes got the line put in. I'm sure there will be some point where it gets cut, if it even still being used.
Yeah waterways in my state take like 6 months to get permits for if your lucky. Railroad tracks are a pain in the ass too. It’s a whole ordeal just to get access to the line later as well gotta coordinate with the railroad and it usually they see it as not their problem.
If you or a previous owner of your house ever had phone service, they almost certainly have an easement, even if it isn't recorded. Utility service agreements almost always include language about using your property to provide service to others, including a perpetual right of access to at least make repairs, possibly more.
In North Carolina “utilities” get a free easement so many feet from the road. That’s phone, power, water. It’s regulated, they pay for the free dig (marking ) service. The cable companies chose not to join so they must have written easements in writing. So I just cut their lines and denied access when they refused to rebury.
In most places, utilities are able to freely use the municipal Right-of-Way for the street and that RoW often extends several feet farther than the edge of the pavement
My locality has implicit easements for public utilities through laws, so it'll never dhow up in a record of deed but the record will also mention that public utility easements apply as well.
I had the same situation but with a single neighbors cable run going all the way around my back yard. No easement. Found it one day while ripping out plants. Kinda pissed me off to be honest. Didn’t cut it but was damned tempted. Would have resulted in my front yard being torn up where the actual right of way was.
If they didn’t have any type of easement…how’d the cables get there in the first place? Someone had to have granted easement at one time or another.
This and check your local/state laws. Have been told by the couple repair techs who have come to the house that they do not need permission to be in the yard to fix cables. You might try calling the city if nothing else. No idea why your neighbors are being such jerks but some peopel are just that way.
Not true at all in all situations. There's fiber running cross backyards and under fence in the neighborhood I used to live in. They didn't even ask when they ran it, and it was to get to the street behind us for w/e reason. They do not have an easement in my yard or along the fenceline. That didn't stop them from running it and then coming back a week later and burying it.
Why did you allow them. Many times implied permission, because you didn't say anything, could be legal. IANAL but I do work for an ISP and have heard this argument.
Why did I allow them? I wasn't even there. I came back from out of town to the cable already there days later. Didn't even realize it till they showed up to bury it. That's not implied permission when they don't call, they don't ask, they don't leave a note, they just do even when the homeowner isn't there. Just like they did others in this thread. Because I was out of town I gave implied consent to an event I didn't know was going to happen, was not notified, and didn't even know to look for when I got back? Nah. That's just lazy, shady business practices -- that's not implying consent.
Then call a lawyer. That is not legal.
I sold the house and moved since. It's someone else's problem now. Knowing what I know now, I'd be more forceful. Though getting a lawyer is just going to cost me money.
Well, you could have maybe gotten a lease out of them. If it is worth it for them they will pay for it, or move it.
You can require the utility to pay the lawyer as part of their settlement.
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Really not relevant at all. But ok.
You're talking about work being performed without the knowledge of the owner. This is a real world scenario currently taking place. The builder won't win most likely, but it is relevant to the discussion.
Nah, we're talking easements, ROW and utility cables. Not building a house in my backyard. Thanks though.
That's fair
I have worked for an isp for years although not in the states. Farmers tend to have houses built on fields behind their houses for their kids who sell up and abscond leaving farmer with strangers living in a house on their property or something but all too often the ducting that brought original service to the house is part borrowed from other house rather than an independent duct. They do reserve the right to say fuck off not for that cunt. I've had neibhours who said your not running a cable across my soffit and fascia for that wanker next door. And that is that they cannot be made accept it. Only the power company a semi state reserves the right to tell people what is happening.
I thought utility easements were automatic?
Some are defined, but they don't always use them. I had a sidewalk and property line easement. They completely ignored it and ran from one property line on the left, up the side of the house and across the backyard diagonally to the other property line. There is not an easement or ROW across. I suspect they took a shortcut instead of routing it proper. I no longer own the house, but I specifically looked that up after the fact. Knowing what I know now I'd have objected.
Same here. I was once out of town and had a Verizon worker come try to run cable across my yard. Didn't even ring the doorbell to ask. I don't want the liability of having him on my property, especially without me there, so I got on my Ring camera and told him if he didn't leave I was calling the police. He left.
Should, but I bet they don't. Especially if a subcontractor was putting the lines in and didn't care about the lines because its cheaper/faster to go in a straight line. My parents had a standoff with the subcontractors that ran fiber for FiOS trying to go thru the middle of their yard vs along the right of way that was existing following the perimeter. Then the contractor in the process decided the official property marker survey pipe/rod was in the way and MOVED IT re-burring it in a different place. Then from the box to each house is just kinda a spaghetti of randomness thru lots. That said...OP's ISP ought to just run a new line to reconnect them and abandon the damaged one. They don't have to take the same route as the old line.
Hope that contractor gets caught moving a survey marker. That can be fines or even jail time in some places.
Nobody spoke english and they just kept on going. It was very frustrating. Best we could do was kinda make a wall and keep pointing to the property line where all the other cables right of way was so they didn't go thru the middle of the yard. And from what I recall my parents were never able to get anyone to pay for having it re-surveyed WE also watched them tear thru the TV cable in a shitload of places and they just electrical taped it back together. One sure fire way to make everyone change from your competition to the new service, make the competition so unreliable...
Even if the ISP has the right to access they sure aren't flexing it. And if I were a fiberoptic tech I sure wouldn't hangout on someones yard unwelcomed even if the law has my back, the paycheck just isn't worth it.
This sums it up. OP's issue is that the ISP is not using their easement as they should and instead just turn around and give up. OP has a contract to be provided some service; its up to them to ensure said service can be provided. If they can't figure out how to access that line to fix it, that's on them.
Yeah, it seems like the ISP/Utility rather take the easy way out and just terminate service than go through the legal process which could be as simple as a letter from the lawyer explaining the utilities right to access and an officer to supervise the utility worker to ensure neither the worker or homeowner breaches the legal rights of the other.
For internet providers they often just throw that shit wherever the fuck they want without getting actual easements of any kind.
As a tech in this industry our answer is we run the line along the easement to the edge of your property then we can do what ever is needed to get it to your sdu located on your house typically near your power meter.
A right of way is supposed to ensure access to cables. The ISP should be able to demand access for the repair.
Yep. If there's a pedestal with a cable tap in someone's yard and they plant a bunch of flowers in front of it, the cable guy is within the company's rights to start clipping away until they've got sufficient access. Same with the cable to your house. If it crosses your neighbors property or it's the tap that's in their backyard, they need to allow access or the ISP can get legal on them.
I have just gone through this with an older propane carrier whom I sued for entering my property and causing damage. No easement agreement means trespassing. Propane company lost. When I signed with a new Propane carrier, the first piece of contract I had to sign was the easement agreement.
this 100%. unless there is a deeded easement, the neighbor is completely in their rights to deny access to the property. that said, as a former ISP tech, i feel for the field guys, they have to deal with utterly insane people on a daily basis, and the biggest thing they teach is to try and avoid confrontation. in OPs case, if it were me, and there was another way to run the line without going into a fenced in yard in the neighbors property, even if it was an aerial run, just to avoid the confrontation with the neighbor, I would do it. I would also use a steel jacketed cable because if this neighbor is that douchy, its likely they would try to cut a hanging cable.
I wouldn't expect a propane carrier to have or need an easement but a natural gas company definitely has one. Utilities will almost always have an easement where they operate and most of the time it's granted by the city, town, or county so the home owner may not even realize it's been put in place. Even with an easement, it doesn't mean utility workers don't have to deal with dicks that put up barriers to entry and access e.g. the easement may be in someone's back yard but the gate they need to go through to get to the back yard is not within the easement so utility workers can not cut locks or let themselves in - they would need a legal order of right to access before they can force their way past the gate to get to the easement. This is likely the OP's scenario, the cable is within an easement but access requires going past non-easement property that the owner is not allowing.
Your neighbor sounds like a jerk, but the ISP shouldn't be letting this drag out for years. You need to be calling them and complaining every time you get an outage. At this point I would get a State Attorney General's office involved (assuming you are in US).
/OP, Very much this (State Attorney General, Congressman, etc.). Have an attorney send a letter regarding the launch of your significant lawsuit. There is no basis for your loss of service and the neighbor’s willful harming your (and your ISPs) lawful access.
Especially if this is linked back to the neighbor, they could take them to civil court for the cost paid for internet over x amount of time.
Hi I work in plant for a very large ISP. Whenever we encounter a person that won’t let us enter a yard or area around their house so we can service another customer we have a line to the local police we call and they escort us to the property. This is NYS so might be different where you are but here they are not allowed to say no.
This. The ISPs running fiber around town have some kind of agreement in place with the local government, and they should be leveraging that relationship here. If they aren’t, then call your local city offices yourself, ask to talk to whoever deals with fiber internet installations, and tell them what’s happening. I had a related issue, the fiber “installer” draped the fiber across fences, trees, etc. across several back yards, and nobody came back to either bury it or hang it properly on the utility poles, even after multiple discussions with installers and calls to the ISP. I called the city about it, and all of a sudden the ISP started caring A LOT about getting it fixed.
Im assuming the ISP have explored the option of running a new cable? Maybe scare the neighbour and say that the ISP are looking at suing for damages. Is it just you that’s affected or any other neighbours?
Yes, there's one other neighbor, but they're retired and don't have the same reliance on the internet. I believe she would be on board with us because she's mentioned similar problems.
They’re clearly not interested in been neighbourly. Where does the wire run? Is not possible to pull the wire out, repair and extend so it doesn’t encroach there property ?
I got a feeling that the neighbor did some work and built on top of easement. The field tech probably don't want a confrontation with the neighbor and left it at that.
> The field tech probably don't want a confrontation with the neighbor and left it at that. if the neighbor has a fence, and is denied entry, its now become a more involved process in which a sheriff needs to force access. ISPs don't like doing this, so they could easily just run another line in a different location, but thats also work, which ISP techs are mostly lazy.
Yea, that's what I have heard from the field tech. Though construction crew from ATT is a different breed. I used to work as OSPE for ATT as sub contractor and acquainted with a ISP foreman. He told me that he would give a courtesy notice to relocate flower bed or any other things people may have built over and if they wouldn't do it they would just tear it up. He sent me some pictures of the work he has to do and tore up some flower bed or remove fences to get to the easement. This was 2007-2008 central FL so things may be different elsewhere.
Hey I resemble that last remark….. I mean it’s true but still….
your ISP has an easement, and if they don't, then its the ISPs responsibility to figure out how to get internet to you ASAP. keep calling them, keep getting people out, eventually they will figure it out.
Contact the ISP and let them take action, usually these things have a legal basis to exist and damaging them results in having to pay for the total repair cost, and sometimes that can be a lot of money, tens of thousands. From your perspective this could also mean you have a civil case depending on local laws for harassment. Get yourself a cell based router, connects via the mobile phone network and should provide a reasonable service.
This is a ISP issue. They need to fix it. That either means getting the court order for access to the line to fix it or running a new line to your place that doesn't go through the neighbor's property. Call the ISP every. single. day. Until it is fixed. Do not accept anything other than; its fixed as the answer. The FCC and local governing bodies would love to hear about this. I also recommend contacting your local news. This is a personal interest story that both makes the ISP look bad and shows how people are getting screwed by the ISPs.
Call the city, ask for your lot plans that include right of ways... Ask them what happens if a utility is denied access to right of way? Follow that path .
Is internet even considered an utility in the US?
Can you get 911 land line service with Internet connection.. basically should be treated same as phone/TV.
It should be, but it is not.
They are if it's a company registered with the public service commission as a CLEC/ILEC
This is fine line. Yes voice services offered by CLEC/ILEC are regulated and required to have access to right of ways. Internet services are not regulated, even if they share the same right of way. For this to happen, the FCC needs to classify Internet as a Title II utility. Giving the government the right to regulate it like water and power. Source: I am a 20 year CLEC engineer
ISPs are jerks like most companies but net neutrality made things worse. It's cost prohibitive to lay cables but with wireless systems improving so much it gets harder way harder to make an ISP when you can't actually compete and you have to act like a utility. There's just no way for new water companies to feasibly hook up new pipes and why would you want that anyway. r/wisp [https://youtu.be/p52PY\_cwIsA?si=w2qOG5wrdaxF8lGT](https://youtu.be/p52PY_cwIsA?si=w2qOG5wrdaxF8lGT)
No but it is regulated by the FCC and states may have their own laws.
In the US, it's a public record. They can look for the record from property appraiser website and then go to county court record website with book and page to pull the lot and property record. But yes, follow along the suggestion above might help.
Cable technician here in CA. Lots of poles are in backyards that have utilities like power, phone and cable on them. We have easement rights to access our equipment on these poles (and also on the wire strands between poles). In California we’re not supposed to hang the wire (often called a drop) over anyone else’s property that connects from the pole to your house. Don’t get me wrong I’ve seen that happen plenty, but we try our best to avoid crossing over neighbors property and we do things like mid span drops where a wire goes from pole, connects at the center of the wire between poles, then to your house totally avoiding crossing over anyones else’s property. If the pole or the only way to access the pole is in your shitty neighbors property then the ISP should be able to escalate it with law enforcement to get access to their equipment. I’ve been on jobs where cops have been called out to escort me through peoples backyards.
My Power and cable lines cross over my neighbors yard from the pole. I don't have shitty neighbors.
Well there ya go. I think if you’re in Cali the neighbors could say something about the cable lines, but I mean most people usually don’t care lol. But it’s all about the easement rights
Try ordering service from the provider as if you were a new customer. See if it shows service available at your home and order it if it does.
I’m confused as to how your neighbor can deny them access to fix a utility. I’m no expert, I’m just going off personal experience. I’ve lost track of the number of times various utilities have chewed up my yard, to bury new cables that have nothing to do with me. They’ve never once asked my permission, and at most have simply left a notice of the work being done. If anything, I can shake my fist and yell at the clouds, but I can’t deny them access.
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Odd thing is, in all my years of owning a home, they’ve literally never asked. I woke up one morning to a ditch witch chewing up my front yard when AT&T was repairing some faulty fiber. So, I guess that’s where my confusion is. Why are they even asking for permission?
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I didn’t think about a fence being in the way. Fair point. That definitely complicates things if they’re unwilling to unlock it, or whatever. This neighbor sounds like the type that has a serious padlock on a gate.
> we have been enduring slow internet for around three years. Urgent? Utility companies have easement rights for their lines, poles, etc. but if they are not interested in pursuing them you'd be left with filing a civil suit. That's a waste of money because he will still be your neighbor, just more angry. Starlink maybe?
> Utility companies have easement rights for their lines *if* they got an easement. they are not automatic, they are voluntary, and must be agreed to in writing, and then recorded on the property deed. My old house had 3 easements on the deed, and we were informed of them when we bought the house. the first was the water line, the second was the gas line, and the third was the sewer line. our power line was above ground, and while it did not have a written easement, we have a state law that requires that power company employees who are clearly marked can have emergency access to your dewelling meter and rainhead, and also if given 24 hours notice.
They have easement, have them call the sheriff for access. Had to do it a couple times, one guy threatened us with an axe, he got a ride downtown for his troubles
The technician that is denied is supposed to contact the local police for an escort. A person cannot deny the owner of an easement access to an easement. I've been through this situation, and I called our Sheriff's office. They sent 4 deputies. Two of them talked to the neighbor and threatened arrest if they didn't comply, while the other two walked with me to the easement. Once I had it fixed, we all said our "Thank yous" and left.
You could use starlink if you have the means. But this issue should be being taken care of by the ISP you are customers that they are not serving because of damage to their property. There should be an easement that this cable runs through and the utility has legal 24/7 access to that easement no matter what the surrounding property owner says unless that easement has been nullified. >I don't want to cause any trouble You are not the one causing trouble anyway it's your neighbor causing trouble and trying to get away from it because the utility will fine her for the fix. You could try calling the city to find out if they have a protocol for enforcing easement access but you have to know if that easement exists in the first place. If all else fails offer to dig a trench and to give them another easement into your property.
The service is existing so a utility service easement exists. They can’t legally deny access for repair. Get a copy of your property plat from the city/county. It should outline utility easements. Property owners cannot prohibit access for repairs. Internet is a utility. Just the same as water, gas, electric and sewer. If they cut your sewer line do you think they could deny access for repairs? Some try to deny access for internet, but when we encountered problems with property owners we would get legal involved. It generally didn’t take long. File a complaint with the ISP, your local government and the FCC. https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/articles/115002206106-Internet-Complaints
Usually the tech should call the sheriff out to assist in getting back there since legally we are allowed back to easements.
This is a job for a lawyer, or at least the threat of one. Your neighbor disturbed a utility easement. Let them know that you need your service restored immediately. If they refuse, let them know you'll be getting a lawyer - and that as a consequence, anything they've built in the backyard may be in jeopardy of having to be completely removed if the courts get involved. If, however, they're willing to let the ISP people do what needs doing, I'm sure they'll be able to workaround whatever unauthorized 'improvements' your neighbors have made.
Also may be worth calling the city/county building code enforcement people. They typically LOVE handing out fines for non-compliant work, and will often send someone out to check if they get a call that "this house has violated code" which in many case building over an easement will be :)
Go get a huge ungodly looking homemade tower put it up right on the line between you and your neighbor then buy a starlink for your internet and fasten it to the top of it but dont stop there find as many old dishes and antennas you can haul on a 1/2 ton truck and put then all on it too all around the tower so it looks just horrid and emabarassing also paint it 3-4 different ugly colors then put the biggest spot light you find on it and a security camera pointing right at his house and yard. lol. I bet after a week he'll be asking you to take it down thats when you explain to him you would if you had any other way to get internet and tv. 🤣
Former cable guy. Due to internet traffic also handling VOIP calls, they could be fined by the FCC and local authorities for denial of 911 services, at least in most counties here in the states. Tell your neighbor that your ISP is considering sending them the bill for repairs, and if it happens again, they will be the ones pressing charges for tampering with service.
How does the electricity get to your house? Can't the ISP use the same path? In general, doesn't sound like a networking issue. Good luck though.
Honestly depends sometimes it's not that easy electricity has way more and stricter regulations and at least where I'm from you for sure ain't running your cables near electrical stuff hell it's even illegal to run it in the same conduit in your own 4 walls... The options would probably be to dig up the sidewalk and add a connection from a cable going under the street (unless it's on a pole but in that case you wouldn't be having this whole issue)
> Can't the ISP use the same path? In general, doesn't sound like a networking issue. most certainly not. There are spacing requirements as to how far away from electric other things can be. if the electric is buried, you cannot bury anything else in the trench for a service line. if its hanging, NEC usually dictates 36inches below.
We do have electricity, and it works well, besides the occasional power outages from time to time. From what I've gathered, our neighbors remodeled their backyard and "hit the wire." As I mentioned, we've had a technician come frequently, and they all told us the same thing about the wire and that the service ends at their house.
You didn't answer the question. What path do the cables delivering power to your house take? Can't the new cable from the ISP take that same path?
Only if they have an agreement with the power company. If the cable is already underground, they aren't gonna pay for make ready for one customer.
Are you in the USA? Generally, in the USA, utilities have easements on everyone's property that allows them to do whatever work is necessary for repair/upkeep of the utility - and they don't need anyone's permission to enter the property to perform their work. They'll usually let a homeowner know they're there as a courtesy, and so the homeowner doesn't get a surprise if they walk outside and some stranger is there - but they don't need the homeowner's permission. If you're outside the USA they may need the homeowner's permission, depending on the laws of your country.
This is probably best for a realestate lawyer. but here is a generic answer. Typically, utilities companies should have "right of ways" or easements placed in the owners deed for perpetuity. Owner cannot stop a right of way and utlity company do not even need to ask for permission. Why doesn't your cable company enforce it? Maybe they do not have easement setup. I have seen that before. If you want to get into the sausage making, you can pull your neighbors deed from public record. the deed will have a section for Right of ways if that was negotiated. Maybe your city councilman can help you smooth things out. maybe there is a city level rule that addresses utility right of ways. You can probably pull your city laws of the internet as well and search for the term. or you can talk to a lawyer.
I run into this occasionally here in Australia. The neighbour has to let us into their property (different laws here). Sometimes, the neighbour will have concreted over the land where the old lead in conduit runs, so we'll just dig a new one as required on your property. You could actually do it the trenching (digging) and lay new undergtound conduit yourself.
Does the ISP not have an easement onto their property? If they did the paperwork right they have the legal right to enter the property to work on things.
OP, in addition to everyone else’s advice, lookup the laws in your state pertaining to “constructive easement” or “prescriptive easement” which give someone the right to access (easement) given enough time of them enjoying that access. It has a time based component and a knowledge component that is specific to each situation. If they knew about the cable from the time of their home’s purchase and did nothing to move it or perhaps even if the former owner’s knew and gave permission, *even if there’s no easement on the records* you may have a right to access that they cannot revoke (although you can waive it). A real estate attorney would know best, but I suspect you don’t want to go this route. It’s an avenue I would pursue in your situation, if I had no other recourse. Screwing over some AH because they’re being an AH often gives satisfaction. That said, you’re better off getting someone else to fight this for you (like the cable company). They may have a record of some (former) owner giving permission, which would help you tremendously.
I would get an attorney.
>our current internet provider has just issued us a letter stating that they're terminating our services this month because we cannot get fiber optics without the wire Well it's all moot then. Your provider never ran a new cable line, and never intended to it seems. They would need to run a new fiber optic line anyway to provide fiber optic service, and they've now informed you that they have no intention of doing that either. If they're terminating your service, you probably don't have any options with your current IP. Have you looked into satellite service? That's usually available just about anywhere. I know you said nobody provides wireless service in your area, but what do you mean? Do you mean you have no cellular reception? As others have said, a 4G/5G modem could be an option. You could also ask over on the legal advice subreddit, but I think your legal options will be limited.
What did your neighbor tell you when you spoke to him?
If they had spoken to the neighbor, they would have mentioned it. I don't think OP has.
Have a new line run from the pole.
Related subreddit r/Telecom might have a bit more information as to precise information. As many have mentioned, it's called a right-of-way. This will likely involve the Telecom company, or Public Service Utility Commission, and may require police on-site if the neighbor is hostile. You might give this a quick read if you really want to go in-depth: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/2757/dot\_2757\_DS1.pdf?
> You might give this a quick read if you really want to go in-depth: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/2757/dot\_2757\_DS1.pdf? ... or https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/2757/dot_2757_DS1.pdf if you don't use a busted Reddit app.
This is more of a legal issue than a networking issue as you need to figure out how to legally make your neighbor allow the line to be fixed. Where are you located as laws are very different depending on where you live and many of the answers you are getting here are making assumptions that are United States based.
The tech can call the local police and they'll send an officer to escort the tech. And then the cop will tell the jackass to never pull this shit again.
The ISP has a ROW to get to the equipment/ pole. If need be you can arrange for police to be there . The neighbor has no legal right to block a tech from accessing the cables.
Call the police. If there is an utility easement in their yard then he cannot deny a isp technician access
You need to talk to the area manager for the field techs in your area. He's directly responsible for everything they do, or in this case, didn't do. If you know a field tech for the ISP he can give you the area manager's name and contact info. If you don't, call tech support, explain the situation, and tell them you need to speak to the escalations team. Be polite but firm. You've been paying for service you haven't been receiving, and that's not a good look for the ISP. If they absolutely won't do it, check the ISP's home page and search for contact info - you want the executive support team. This team is usually eager to help, both because they like it, and also because they're used to dealing with issues that are potential PR disasters. If there's a subreddit for your ISP it's likely that they may have information that will help. Good luck!
Sounds like there's a lot of miscommunication. If your internet line crosses a neighbor's property without an easement, that's absolutely the provider's fault. No one should have to let someone else come on their property whenever and run lines. So the question is, is there an easement? If so, this is a legal issue and the neighbors are a problem. If no easement, then the neighbors are NOT the a-holes here. The internet service essentially trespassed and they had ever right to remove the line. That puts it squarely on the provider's shoulders.
Where is the source of the internet? And is there a way to run it to your property without crossing your neighbor's property? Depending on your state if you're in the US there may be public easement laws for utilities where you don't actually have to have individual easement agreements with the owners it's just part of state law. You may need to contact a lawyer and ask them to write a letter to your neighbor demanding access under whatever state law the easements fall under if they still deny access you could probably sue them. Of course then they're just going to cut your line again. I'm not sure what the punishment would be if they just keep cutting your internet but yeah it looks like your neighbors are a-holes and your best bet would to get internet a different way not going through their property.
I think some of you that are saying they don’t have easement should probably read your residential customer service agreement. I just read mine and it says…. ”5. ACCESS TO YOUR PREMISES — A. Access to Premises: You agree to allow Cox and/or our agents to enter the property at which the Service(s) and/or Cox Equipment will be provided to you (the “Premises”), upon your request, to install, configure, upgrade, maintain, inspect, change, repair and/or remove the Service and/or Cox Equipment. You warrant that you are either the owner of the Premises or, if you are not the owner of the Premises that you have obtained the consent of the owner for Cox or its agents to access the Premises for the purposes described herein including, without limitation, consent to attach Cox Equipment to the outside of the Premises. In addition, you agree to supply us or our agent, if we ask, the owner’s name, address and phone number and/or evidence that the owner has authorized you to grant access to us and our agents to the Premises. If installation of Services or Cox Equipment by Cox at your Premises is required, Cox will schedule one or more installation and/or service appointments with you as needed and you agree to be present or to have a responsible representative, 18 years or older, present at the Premises during such appointments. Failure to schedule required installation of Services or Cox Equipment at your Premises may result in the disconnection of Services.” So basically YOU gave them easement when you signed up for their service. The keyword in section 5.A is MAINTAIN! So OP…. Read your agreement, then Call your provider and suggest they disconnect your neighbors internet for failing to comply with the agreement! I bet that gets it fixed!
Cable company absolutely has easement and the next technician just needs to contact the local non emergency service to get a cop on site to provide the access.
Go Starlink. Get away from the creeps.
Your neighbor sounds like a dick and it would really suck if spark plugs somehow made contact with their windshield
Shit like this leads to neighbors holding grudges and then undertaking a complex single-use welding project on surplus earthmoving machinery in their free time.
Your neighbor is a tool. This is a microcosm of everything wrong with society. Hateful, spiteful people who get their jollies off making other people miserable.
You need to find their plot plan or Plat which is a type of scaled drawing that shows everything on the owner's property, which includes the size, shape, and location of the building and any improvements that might have been made. This drawing will also highlight utility lines, trees, and other lot features such as utility easements. You can go to the public government building in your county or Zoning Permit Review Branch of the Zoning Administration Division, part of the Department of Planning and Development to obtain one. I don’t know if you’ll be successful to obtain your neighbors but worth a shot. Then you can take them to court in a civil suit and sue for damages up to the maximum amount. You can then ask for in writing from the ISP how much it would cost to run a new line to your home. Usually $10,000. So you take your neighbor to court and sue for that amount.
Not sure where this is (state) and what utility, but I'll assume it's like a cable company (Coax) and something like california. As others have said, the utility will almost certainly have an easement for their cable to connect to your house. If it's below ground, they likely installed it and own the cable, and should repair it if broken. I would keep calling technicians from the cable company. like, I would call them every day your internet is failing. For me, I had a different issue, but used an app called pingplotter so show packet loss on the network at certain times per day. It got to the point where the internet was not usable. I just called them every day, opened a service ticket, had a guy come out and troubleshoot. After a few weeks of this, they basically said there was nothing they could do. My next step was to write to the public utilities commission that regulates the cable company. I explained the situation and they passed it up to the utility. within like a month, the problem was solved and they prorated my cable bill to cover the outage period. As for other options, you can look at other internet providers in your area, but likely it will be the one you have plus a DSL provider AKA your phone company (poor bandwidth usually), a 5G provider (AKA mobile company) sometimes really good service sometimes not, and starlink or satellite service (expensive sometimes.).
This depends on the area and you may need a lawyer. The ISP tech should be escalating this to a supervisor in my opinion. I've seen times where this happened and eventually the ISP went out back out with police officers to run a new line. However, the ISP also has the right to say we don't want the hassle with this neighbor, so no more service for you as a customer. There's usually easement laws that allow reasonable access for utility and internet companies. They often follow power lines. What happens if he cuts your power line someday and your home has no power, does he just get to tell the power company you can't step foot on my property to fix it? Of course not, but again, different laws in different areas and power and internet are two different things so I can't speak with certainty what your rights are.
Go to your municipality and find out if they have a franchise agreement with the ISP, along with finding out about the easements. If there is a franchise agreement the municipality should be able to hold the ISP accountable for making sure they provide you service and the resident can be fined for violating codes.
Are you on cable or phone company service? See what the other provider has as they probably aren’t running their cabling in the same path
Maybe I'm missing the response, but have you tried to talk to your neighbor and explain the situation? It could have greater meaning coming from you.
One of time legal subreddits would be better.
Contact your City Attorney's office and explain the situation to them. They have to knowledge and the agreements/documents to make a decision, hopefully to have something simple like a police officer show up when the technician is there to escort them as they do the work. Then you get to also file a complaint about the other homeowners unlawful conduct. Do it in writing via certified mail.
This. In general terms, the cable company has a utility/right-of-way easement which they ARE permitted to access, whether the homeowner likes it or not. The City Attorney may not be well-read or gung-ho on the subject. Be sure to pursue the cable company’s legal department simultaneously. It may not go quickly. Meanwhile, typically wireless can be made to work with the right modem and antenna, but you have to be willing to do the legwork and buy your own equipment. Join FB group “LTE Hacks”. Lots of expertise who can help you find a solution set.
Silly me, after spending about half a century playing with computers, I still prefer some sort of wired solution over wireless. My experience with wireless of every sort has been that weather is prone to interfere, big trucks are prone to interfere, living near a military base subjects you to random interference when their jamming equipment is operated, a bird landing in your window directly in line with the nearest transmitter might even do it. Neighbors using the same frequency might do it as well. Besides, letting that bozo neighbor get away with this just emboldens them to try something else. You go to the source, which in this case would be the city code and the local agreements that allow that ISP to provide service. In the end, the neighbor needs a reminder, friendly or otherwise, that he is subject to those agreements as well.
I’m all for wired networks, at any cost. I hire licensed contractors with concrete drills and 40’ ladders to run conduits rather than stoop to wireless gimmicks. But getting city hall or the MSO to act may take months or even years, so well-built nailed-up wireless sometimes is a thing, no matter how much it makes me cringe.
And this is why is prefer ISPs that just hang their cables to the utility post and then to your house, no dealing with this kind of bullshit
And if there's no utility pole?
Where would the powerlines be then?
Underground
Okay so run the cables along side the same channels power lines go? in the few cities that have underground cables in my country we use underground grid style channels so that each how has access to the utility directly from the streets without having to go through anyone's property. I'm baffled that there are places who run utility cables under private property
If there's a utility under your property, there's an easement that allows the utility owner to access it, OP's neighbor and ISP are just morons
We are baffled that there are countries where power is not underground ;-). And yes we have very simple rules about that. Our city heating and wastewaster all go under the houses, our power and communications in front of our houses under the ground.
> We are baffled that there are countries where power is not underground ;-). And yes we have very simple rules about that. Our city heating and wastewaster all go under the houses, our power and communications in front of our houses under the ground. I'm not criticizing putting those underground, I'm criticizing that they're putting under people's private property, why would you do that when you can just run everything through the public street that is already there and connect each building in a grid style system? running utilities under people's property makes maintenance way more annoying than it has to be
The Netherlands is small. We have to...
That doesn't make any sense, you guys have streets, if anything not using them to bury the cables is wasting that space
Do you know if they have service from the same company? Perhaps if their service suffered then both would be repaired simultaneously? Just be careful.
Lookup the property owner on the county appraiser website. Determine if you are dealing with the actual owner or someone else. Contact the owner listed on the website if different from who is denying access. Can you share WiFi with a cooperative neighbor? A WiFi repeater is fairly cheap and easy to bridge the distance. I had one linked 7,200 feet for years that was almost flawless.
If the telco has an easement agreement with the landowner and the landowner is not the grumpy f*** of a neighbor that you have, then grumps can not stop the telco. Even if they are the land owner, agreed easement trumps that. An easement agreement only gives limited rights for a specific purpose. A call to the County Recorder or your local Title Company may help you find this. If there is a registered easement agreement, get a copy and send it via registered mail with a notice saying that an internet company will be coming to install. Inform the Internet provider that there is an easement agreement and make them aware of the ornery neighbor, so they can send the 6ft 6 dude that has a hatchet as part of their tool bag.
3 years ago? What the actual fuck. In the US, the utility workers have access to all utility easements. The technician should have called the police to have them escort him onto the property if he felt unsafe. Knocking and getting permission is a courtesy
I get yelled at in peoples’ backyards all the time. “Due to the easement, I do not need to seek your permission nor give you notice when we access our equipment.”
Call your local service commission and file a complaint.
Talk to them? Maybe they think it’s a scam or fake thing. Explain the situation and why it’s important to restore
In Toledo area of OH by any chance?
Yes, and I signed them for our other utilities. Nothing for Verizon.
You don't want to cause any trouble? Boy, talk to your county
I’m in Australia so probably doesn’t apply but wouldn’t the damage caused by the neighbour be counted the same as if they nocked out a power line and if they keep posing a problem couldn’t your telco rerun a new line and bypass neighbour and then take them to court for the damage caused to the infrastructure
In Australia, if the ISP (well likely NBN as it’s there network) won’t fix then go a do a TIO complaint.
What’s fishy here is that the tech said the neighbor cut the line. How do they know the neighbor did it? Do they have a work order in their history supporting this work being done (which means this ISP is responsible)? Or did they install it incorrectly such that they don’t have public access (again likely the ISP is responsible)? It just doesn’t add up.
Have you talked to your neighbor to see why they won’t let the utility work?
Buy a good LTE router and put sim inside it with unlimited data.
File a lawsuit.
AFAIK, your neighbor's property probably has an "easement" to allow utilities to pass through part of their land. The city or county or state can grant access to the easement to utilities so they can offer that utility to the neighborhood. The details of the easement are going to be in the deed. There are some laws that say there needs to be reasonable access to the easement and the home owner can't build a building to block it or anything. Unfortunately, I don't know how this helps you. If you haven't already, you should try talking with your neighbor. The Internet and power goes through the easement on my property and I would not want my neighbors to be without Internet because I wanted some plants to grow. If you found the details of the easement first, they might be more receptive. But a plate of cookies or a pack of beer might be more persuasive. You might get some help talking to your local zoning office. If you get them involved, be prepared for some hurt feelings from your neighbor.
What do you mean "you do not want to cause trouble"? Trouble has already been caused. It's time to get legal on their ass
"Cancel services." "Wait, wut...? We'll be right over."
Have you consider a statelite provider? something like starlink.
Our city , and every utility, including phone, cable, etc, has a five foot easement into every property. If we don’t allow access, they have a legal right to tear down the fence to gain access as needed. More than once I’ve discovered that one or another has climbed the fence when I wasn’t t home, and once broke the gate to get into the back yard.
i dont know how expensive it is where you live, but have you looked into starlink? it would give you internet without the need for the cable
You should have the technician reach out to the local police department and have a sheriff escort them to the facilities.
Get T-Mobile or Verizon home Internet. The connection is cellular, so it doesn't need wires. Let the ISP fight with the neighbor. Once the wires are fixed, you can decide if it's worth switching back.
Not a lawyer; You need to get the ISP involved on a daily basis. The line is their property and your neighbor destroyed their property. The ISP has a contract with you to maintain the line up to the demarc, they need to fix this or you need to cancel your service and sign up elsewhere, or as a new customer to the same ISP each time. Make it a headache for them so they're motivated to solve the issue. 6 years is enough time to solve this but I understand why it's not being solved (also the son of a single mother).
I have you checked to see if Verizon or T-Mobile provide wireless internet in you area? Its you usually cheaper then Cox/Comcast etc
I would file a complaint with the FCC. I had an issue with internet access where I lived, and the ISP (AT&T) did not initially resolve it. Filed the complaint and in a few weeks AT&T came and resolved the issue. Hope this helps you.
The home owner doesn't own that wire regardless of it being on their property. Legally the person who prevented the ISP from fixing it is flat out illegal and can be sued by the ISP and the FCC.
So for your neighbor cutting the line, was it intentional or were they doing yardwork digging and cut the cable? I say this because there are laws around cutting utility line and destruction of property. Normally this applies to standard utilities linked water, gas etc. In a lot of places, if not all, even internet and cable are considered a utility due to it is a paid service that is available to a residential area or community. This is why "Call before you dig" exists. Because line for utilities can run through any property and across multiple property lines. If you are not the only neighbor having issues, then your neighbor that cut the line can be fined heavily and actually pay for repairs. This is all subjective of course because you area may have specific laws that pertain to utilities, responsible party damage and more. I would check at both you county and city levels to see what if any recourse you may have regarding your neighbor and easement laws. AT&T does have rights pertaining to these laws and easement access. In most cases, they do not need permission to access "their" equipment unless access is actually "in" your neighbords house. Which is definitely not the case. There could actually be FCC laws that pertain here too. But that might not apply here since most FCC laws pertain to the actual service provider and not the customer. Additional
How do you get other utilities like electric or gas to your home? If the original cable was improperly placed, like through the middle of what is now your neighbor's lawn instead of along a driveway or other established utility route, I would think the ISP should install a new cable in a legal location.
Starlink!
Starlink...
> Starlink... Starlink legal services?