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Telephone lines, phone systems & communications

OPS Communications

OPS Communications runs traditional copper telephone lines: new lines to the master socket and repairs when there is no dial tone.

2job types
$900–$900customers pay per job
$250–$450engineer wage per job
1training course
0emergency job types

Overview

What it does

OPS Communications runs traditional copper telephone lines: new lines to the master socket and repairs when there is no dial tone.

On OPS Hub

OPS Hub → Companies & jobs → OPS Communications.

On the phone

Engineers take line jobs in OPS Work.

What players physically do

Everything below happens in the world, with your character, where other players can see it.

  • Run copper phone cable from the distribution point to the house
  • Fit the master socket and test for dial tone
  • Find and repair faults on the copper line

How the system works

How OPS Communications's part of the world fits together — and what breaks when it doesn't.

Fibre & copper network (OPS Openline)

The exchange

Exchanges house the OLT (fibre light source), the MDF (copper), core routers and power plant (rectifiers, batteries, generator).

Out to the street

Feeder fibre runs to street cabinets, then to distribution points (CBTs) on poles. Copper runs exchange → PCP cabinet → pole → house.

Into the home

A fibre drop ends in an ONT; a copper drop ends in a master socket (NTE). The ONT needs light from upstream and an active service.

Faults

Random network faults (water in joints, cracked enclosures, cut cables) take everything downstream offline and raise jobs. Several lines down together raise an outage.

Underground

Chambers, ducts and tunnels carry cables under roads. Lids are heavy and gas can build up — never work alone in one.

Every job

Every job OPS Communications does. Open one to see who it's for, what the customer pays, what the engineer earns, the certificate needed, the parts used and exactly how the server checks the work was really done. A job is only paid when its check passes.

Telephone lines (copper)

Install and repair copper telephone lines so the customer's master socket has dial tone.

Telephone line installation

$900engineer earns $450

New copper line with dial tone at the master socket.

Who it's for

HomesBusinesses

Money

Customer pays $900; the engineer is paid $450 wages when it's signed off. The rest goes to the company.

Certificate

Not required — the Copper line installation course covers it.

How it's created

Raised automatically for customers around the city, and by customers on the phone.

How the server checks it was really done

The phone line must have dial tone at the master socket.

Parts used from company stock

1 × Master socket (NTE)40 m Copper drop wire

Training: Telephone lines (copper) — the full step by step, tools, PPE and hazards for this job.

Phone line fault

No chargeengineer earns $250

Customer has no dial tone — test and repair.

Who it's for

HomesBusinesses

Money

Customer pays nothing (fault, emergency or covered work); the engineer is paid $250 wages when it's signed off. The rest goes to the company.

Certificate

Not required — the Copper line installation course covers it.

How it's created

Raised automatically for customers around the city, and by customers on the phone. Covered by a warranty after completion.

How the server checks it was really done

Line testing and repair: the engineer works on site within 30 m of the job for 45 seconds.

Parts used from company stock

10 m Copper drop wire

Training: Telephone lines (copper) — the full step by step, tools, PPE and hazards for this job.

Training & safety

Each group of jobs has a course in OPS Academy: the lesson below, a health & safety module, an exam and a practical. You can read all of it here, or take it on OPS Hub → Classroom, in the OPS Academy app on the phone or laptop, or at opsacademy.sa in game.

Copper line installation · certificate required

Telephone lines (copper)

Install and repair copper telephone lines so the customer's master socket has dial tone.

Overview

A copper line runs from the MDF in the exchange through a street cabinet (PCP), on multipair cable to a pole, down a drop wire to the house, and into the master socket (NTE). A line is only working when the whole pair is continuous and the exchange end is powered. The installation job checks for dial tone at the master socket near the job.

The equipment — and what it does

Master socket (NTE5C)

Where the line enters the customer's home. Phones plug into it.

/towers → OPS Openline → copper kit, fitted on the inside wall.

Copper drop wire

Carries the pair from the pole to the house.

Copper cabling: run from the pole's joint to the NTE.

Butt set

Test handset clipped onto the pair to listen for dial tone.

Used during testing.

Tone & probe

Identifies the right pair among many.

Used at the cabinet or pole.

Tools & protective equipment

Lineman's butt set

A test handset you clip onto a copper pair to hear dial tone and make test calls.

Tone & probe kit

Puts a tone on a copper pair or cable so you can find the same cable at the other end.

Ladder

Reaches walls, ceilings and pole steps. Place it at a 1-in-4 angle on firm ground.

Cordless drill & fixings

Drills walls for cable entry and fixes brackets, cameras and boxes with the right plugs and screws.

Hi-vis vest & hard hat PPE

Makes you visible to traffic and protects your head from falling objects and low beams.

Fall-arrest harness PPE

Clipped to a pole or anchor point, it stops a fall when you work above 2 m.

Step by step

  1. Find the pairAt the cabinet or pole, put a tone on the line and find the right pair with the probe.
    Street cabinet / pole Tone & probe kit about 8 s in game
  2. Run the dropClimb the pole and run copper drop wire to the house.
    Pole to house Ladder about 8 s in game
  3. Fit the master socketPlace the NTE inside and terminate the drop into it.
    Inside the property Cordless drill & fixings about 8 s in game
  4. Test for dial toneClip the butt set on and listen for dial tone.
    At the master socket Lineman's butt set about 8 s in game
  5. Check and completePress Check — it traces the line back for dial tone.
    OPS Work → the job about 8 s in game

Health & safety — hazards and controls

Working at height

A fall from a ladder or pole can cause serious injury.

Use a ladder at a 1-in-4 angle on firm ground with three points of contact. Above 2 m on a pole, clip on your harness.

Working in the street

Traffic and pedestrians around open chambers, cabinets and poles.

Wear hi-vis and set out cones and barriers before you start. Never leave a chamber open and unattended.

Ringing voltage

Copper lines carry about 80 V when a phone rings.

Don't touch bare conductors when a call could come in.

What goes wrong if it's done badly

Drop not continuous back to the exchange

No dial tone, so the check fails.

NTE fitted before accepting

It doesn't count — the check looks for kit fitted after acceptance.

Wrong pair connected

Another customer's line gets crossed: one line works for the wrong house and the fault comes back.

Assessment

Safety module · 3 questionsExam · 5 questions in this modulePractical at an OPS Academy training centre (if switched on) Open in the Classroom →

Stock & suppliers

Parts this company keeps in stock. Jobs use them up; managers reorder from suppliers with purchase orders, and stock below its minimum raises an alert.

PartUnitCostReorder belowSupplier
Master socket (NTE)
nte
each$125LS Cable & Wire
1 h delivery · On account
Copper drop wire
cu-drop
m$0150LS Cable & Wire
1 h delivery · On account

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