Alcatel-Lucent ONT: Ground Wire Chassis Connection

[dexman]

As a part of the Tellabs to Alcatel-Lucent upgrade, the existing ground wire was reused.

While neatening-up the wires/cables below the enclosure I noticed that the ground wire was loose inside the grounding point, and, a loose connection won't be very effective.

Does anyone know if the ground wire needs to have some sort of plug crimped onto the end. If so, what would it be? 🤔

If not, is there a set screw somewhere that is used to secure the ground wire? 🤔

[dexman]

I called Verizon Repair. The rep had me use my mobile phone to show what the ONT's cabling looked like.

Apparently there is a grounding block that plugs into the jack.

The Verizon rep placed a request to have a block dropped off and I will connect everything up.

I scanned Google and came across a picture of an Al-Lu ONT with the block present...thus the call to Repair.

[dexman]

The image of an ONT with the grounding block.

[gs0b]

Do you have cable TV?  If not, the ground isn't needed (assuming an indoor ONT.)  If you do have TV, the cable network can be grounded by using a ground screw on a splitter.  Or a ground block connector, like this one:
https://www.showmecables.com/single-port-f-type-coax-grounding-block-3000-mhz

[dexman]

Yes, we have cable TV. The inline splitters do not have ground screws. The shield on coaxial cable isn't really intended to be used as a system ground.

The Verizon tech who installed the new ONT came back out. He said that Verizon has moved away from using that external grounding block. He lifted the ONT off of the wall, flipped it over and showed me a screw on the bottom of the unit. He backed off the screw, seated the ground wire and tightened the screw again. He also discovered that the cable between the ONT and the power supply brick was suspect, so, he pulled a replacement off of his truck and replaced the original one.

Being a 23 year C.O. technician, I asked if Verizon still uses TFC (now Amphenol) branded coaxial cable. He said, no. Verizon switched from Commscope to TFC to, now, PPC. Like Comcast, Verizon uses white jacketed RG6 coaxial cable for installations. 🙄

All is well now. 🙂

[gs0b · Accepted solution]

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@dexman wrote:

Yes, we have cable TV. The inline splitters do not have ground screws. The shield on coaxial cable isn't really intended to be used as a system ground.

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There really isn't a need for a "system ground" in a Fios residential system with an indoor ONT.  The only grounded signal that connects to the ONT is coax.  Nothing else is grounded.  There is no electrical path from the outside world to the ONT - one of the benefits of glass!

Outdoor ONTs need to be grounded as most electrical codes require it.  As far as I know, the codes make no differentiation between a few inches of cable from an ONT to the inside of a building vs. the miles of cable on a coax distribution system.

When Verizon installs indoor ONTs without TV service, they don't ground them.  They are treated just like any other residential electronic device.

Glad you got your ground sorted!  You can now claim to be a well grounded person.  🙂

[dexman]

😄