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Splicing drop wire
While the legacy 18.5 AWG drop wire was designed to be spliced, modern multi pair drop wire is not.
In circumstances where an existing modern multi pair drop has to be extended and replacing the entire drop
is not an option (e.g. upgrading a NIB box) the wire may be spliced as long as:
UY Scotchlok™ connectors are used
The splice is in a dry weather protected location (e.g. in the NIB) uses “dry spots” from 3M. These are
5 cm x 5 cm (2 inches x 2 inches) black splice points that are attached to a pole.
The wire used to extend the drop is the same kind as the drop taking care to retain the twist of the
extended wire. Do not use jumper wire.
Span Clamp
Figure 56: Clamps
Aerial attachment is usually to the messenger. (A messenger is a wire that does not carry signal, but supports
signal wires.) This helps ease pole replacement when it becomes necessary as well as reduces climbing
hazards.
All network service (drop) wire placed from pole to building will be distributed from span clamps when a
messenger is in place.