How deep are residential phone lines buried?

Asked by: Jennifer Hoppe

Water: 36 inches is national standard; can be any depth if not subject to freeze. Telephone: If line is in conduit, can safely be at any depth; without conduit, should be at least 24 inches. (Ours is one to two inches under the soil surface and impossible to miss when digging.) Cable television: Can be any depth.

How deep is the hole for a telephone pole?

In fact, utility poles are buried according to a specific formula: 10% of the pole’s height plus two feet equals the appropriate depth of burial. A standard utility pole measures 40 feet, so a standard hole will go about 6 feet down into the ground.