In many places, grounding of telecomm gear is almost taken for granted, but at times given great care in design, installation and maintenance. Serious problems can surface if grounding for AC switchgear, telecomm and lightning protection are not cross-connected. The “lower half” of Ben Franklin’s 1752 invention is usually alive and well in one form or another.
Although the North American continent has a wide range of lightning incidence, an “entrance protector” is a default item in all buildings, whether served from overhead or underground from telco central office. Routinely, surge protection above residential duty is furnished in 25-pair groups, and the protector modules are sacrificial, so usually made easy to replace; e.g., “5-pin” modules.
There are large varieties of protector modules, and entrance terminals that house the protectors.
www.comm-omni.com/circa/ct3b1fs.htm slang: “3B/4B” module
www.comm-omni.com/circa/1890.htm slang: “189” entrance block.
“Deluxe” ground electrodes can get fancy, like chemical rods planted in a conductive slurry.
www.lyncole.com/rod.asp www.lyncole.com/p.lynconite.asp
