Removing a core of an armoured cable

Abstract

A method of removing a core of an armoured cable is described. Within a footway box, a cable is located entering the footway box from an end user premises, the cable having a core surrounded by armouring wires, the armouring wires held between an inner sheath and an outer sheath of the cable. An exposed end of the core is attached to a winch in the footway box by threading the exposed end of the core through an aperture in a body of the winch and attaching the exposed end of the core to a spool of the winch. The aperture being sized and shaped such that the outer sheath and armouring wires abut or are held by the body of the winch in use, when the spool is rotated, to pull the core from the end user premises onto the spool thereby leaving the outer sheath, armouring wires and inner sheath in situ.

Description

REMOVING A CORE OF AN ARMOURED CABLE

[0001] The present disclosure relates to removing cores of armoured cables, including but not limited to removing cores from armoured telecommunications cables underground between end user premises and footway boxes.BACKGROUND

[0002] In the United Kingdom, there are approximately 8 million domestic premises which are connected to telecommunications services using direct in ground armoured cable such as armoured copper cable. In areas where there is direct in ground armoured cable it is necessary to dig and replace the cable with a duct or tube into which a fibre cable is installed to deliver fibre to the premise which is highly labour and cost intensive. Armoured cable is not only found feeding individual premises from the main cable route (for example from a footway box to the property) but may also be used in other locations within the telecommunications access network (for example between footway boxes).

[0003] Many telecommunications networks, in the UK and elsewhere, are deploying a new optical fibre access network (e.g. Fibre to the Premises) to replace an existing copperbased access network. The new optical fibre connections are typically deployed by running new optical fibre cables to each dwelling in the network. It is desirable to reduce the cost and complexity of deploying these new optical fibre cables.

[0004] The examples described herein are not limited to examples which solve problems mentioned in this background section.SUMMARY

[0005] Examples of preferred aspects and embodiments of the invention are as set out in the accompanying independent and dependent claims.

[0006] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0007] According to a first aspect there is a method of removing a core of an armoured cable comprising: within a footway box, locating the cable entering the footway box from an end user premises, the cable having a sheathed core of wires surrounded by armouring wires, the armouring wires held between an inner sheath and an outer sheath of the cable; attaching an exposed end of the core to a winch in the footway box by threading the exposed end of the inner sheath and core through an aperture in a body of the winch and attaching the exposed end of the core to a spool of the winch; the aperture being sized to accept the inner sheath but shaped such that the outer sheath and armouring wires abut or are held by the body of the winch in use, when the spool is rotated, to pull the core from the end user premises onto the spool thereby leaving theouter sheath, armouring wires and inner sheath in situ. Because of the size and shape of the aperture it is possible to extract the core from the cable whilst leaving the inner sheath, armouring wires and outer sheath in situ. The inner sheath, armouring wires and outer sheath are then available for re-use to house an optic fibre cable. Since the inner sheath, armouring wires and outer sheath remain in situ it is not necessary to dig up the cable where the cable is underground and this saves time and labour. The outer sheath, armouring wires and inner sheath provide the tube for a new fibre optic cable and protection for the optic fibre against rodents and against accidental damage from garden spades and even mechanical diggers. The armouring wires provide a strong structure which prevents the cable outer sheath from collapsing when the core has been removed. The armouring wires also hold the inner sheath to prevent the inner sheath from collapsing when the core has been removed. This is because the inner sheath is bound by the armouring wires during the cable manufacture.

[0008] In some examples the winch body comprises a plurality of apertures of different dimensions for different diameters of the cable core or inner sheath. Since the number of wires in the core varies according to the installation it is useful to have different sized apertures since this enables the winch to be versatile.

[0009] In some examples the aperture is in a replaceable panel of the winch body such that panels with different diameters of aperture are useable according to a diameter of the cable core or inner sheath. By replacing a panel of the winch body it is possible to have the aperture at a location generally level with a spool of the winch which facilitates operation of the winch to remove the core.

[0010] In some examples the aperture is large enough for the inner sheath to pass through but small enough to stop the armouring wires and outer sheath to pass through. This gives the benefit of tool- less operation since an engineer only needs the winch and does not need additional clamps or grippers to hold the outer part of the cable in place whilst the core is pulled out.

[0011] In some examples the cable is not held or clamped in any other way within the footway box. Tool-less operation is a significant benefit since the footway box is a constrained space which is often dark and where it is difficult for an engineer to manually manipulate a plurality of tools.

[0012] In some examples the aperture is sized and shaped for a press fit between the inner sheath and the aperture. Having a press fit facilitates tool-less operation since an engineer simply manually presses the inner sheath into the aperture. The press-fit also acts to ensure the inner sheath is clamped or held by the winch body so that is remains static whilst the core is pulled out.

[0013] In some examples exposing the end of the core comprises removing part of the outer sheath and exposing ends of the armouring wires, and bending the armouring wiresaway from the inner sheath such that they abut the winch body. The armouring wires are typically steel or other hard metal and having these bent so they abut the winch body enables the armouring wires to press against the winch body whilst the core is pulled out.

[0014] In some examples attaching the exposed end of the core to the spool comprises winding the exposed end of the core around a plate and then attaching the plate to the spool. Using the plate facilitates manual fixing of the core to the spool in the constrained space of the footway box. The plate is sized and shaped to be hand held and an engineer is able to wind the exposed end of the core around the plate by feeling the plate so that even in dark conditions the operation can be carried out. No tools are needed.

[0015] In some examples attaching the plate to the spool comprises pressing the plate into a recess in the spool, the recess sized and shaped to receive the plate. Pressing the plate into the spool is a manual operation that is easily done by hand without the need for tools. When the plate fits into the recess a click sound is optionally made that facilitates the operation since the engineer knows the plate has been successfully attached to the spool even without seeing it.

[0016] In some examples the plate could be held in the spool by means of a fixing such as a simple screw.

[0017] In some examples the plate comprises a plurality of channels and wherein the core is held around the plate by being pressed into the channels. Using channels in the plate makes it easy for an engineer to feel the channels and tell by touch the core is correctly held around the plate. Using channels facilitates tool-less operation.

[0018] In some examples at least two of the channels intersect. By having intersecting channels the core crosses over itself and so engages firmly with the plate and is thus fixed to the spool.

[0019] In some examples the channels form a figure of eight on the plate. Using a figure of eight arrangement is found to be particularly effective for fixing the core to the spool.

[0020] In some examples the method comprises adjustably suspending the winch from a rim of the footway box such that the aperture and spool are approximately level with the cable entry into the footway box such that in use, the cable core is wound onto the spool without lifting of ground above the cable. Adjustably suspending the winch from the rim of the footway box is straightforward for an engineer to achieve in the constrained space.

[0021] In some examples the method comprises replacing the core by an optic fibre by either: attaching the optic fibre to a core of the cable within the end user premises at a customer splice point, such that as the winch is operated the core is replaced with optic fibre by pulling the optic fibre into the inner sheath of the cable as the core of the cable is pulled out of the cable; or after the cable core has been wound onto the spool, removing the winch from the footway box, and pushing the optic fibre into the inner sheath from the footway box into the customer premises. Because of the armouring the cable does nothave sharp bends and so it is possible to pull or push an optic fibre into the inner sheath in a straightforward manual manner without the use of tools. Typically the inner sheath contains petroleum jelly which also facilitates the pulling or pushing of the optic fibre into the inner sheath.

[0022] In another aspect there is an apparatus for removing a core of an armoured cable, the cable having a core surrounded by armouring wires, the armouring wires held between an inner sheath and an outer sheath of the cable, the apparatus comprising: a winch sized and shaped to be used in a footway box into which the cable enters from an end user premises, the winch having a body housing a spool and where there is an aperture in the winch body; an attachment mechanism for attaching an exposed end of the core to the winch by threading the exposed end of the core through the aperture and attaching the exposed end of the core to the spool; the aperture being sized and shaped such that the outer sheath and armouring wires abut or are held by the body of the winch in use, when the spool is rotated, to pull the core from the end user premises onto the spool thereby leaving the outer sheath, armouring wires and inner sheath in situ. The apparatus is straightforward to use in a footway box and may be used to remove a cable core without other tools being needed. The apparatus is portable and low cost.

[0023] It will also be apparent to anyone of ordinary skill in the art, that some of the preferred features indicated above as preferable in the context of one of the aspects of the disclosed technology indicated may replace one or more preferred features of other ones of the preferred aspects of the disclosed technology. Such apparent combinations are not explicitly listed above under each such possible additional aspect for the sake of conciseness.

[0024] Other examples will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, when taken in conjunction with the drawings, illustrate by way of example the principles of the disclosed technology.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of customer premises and a footway box;

[0026] FIG. 2 shows an armoured cable with an exposed core at one end;

[0027] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a winch being used to extract a core from an armoured cable;

[0028] FIG. 4 shows a winch with a cable core fixed to a plate of a spool of the winch;

[0029] FIG. 5 shows a winch with a plate in a spool of the winch;

[0030] FIG.6 shows the winch of FIG. 5 with the plate detached from the spool;

[0031] FIG. 7 shows a spool of a winch such as the winch of FIG. 6;

[0032] FIG. 8A shows a plate such as the plate of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6;

[0033] FIG. 8B shows the other side of the plate of FIG. 8A;

[0034] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method of extracting a core from an armoured cable and optionally inserting an optic fibre.

[0035] The accompanying drawings illustrate various examples. The skilled person will appreciate that the illustrated element boundaries (e.g., boxes, groups of boxes, or other shapes) in the drawings represent one example of the boundaries. It may be that in some examples, one element may be designed as multiple elements or that multiple elements may be designed as one element. Common reference numerals are used throughout the figures, where appropriate, to indicate similar features.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The following description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present technology and is not meant to limit the inventive concepts claimed herein. As will be apparent to anyone of ordinary skill in the art, one or more or all of the particular features described herein in the context of one embodiment are also present in some other embodiment(s) and / or can be used in combination with other described features in various possible combinations and permutations in some other embodiment(s).

[0037] The present technology aims to reduce excavation by repurposing direct in-ground armoured copper telecommunications cable as a tube for new optic fibre cables by pulling out a cable core and leaving the rest of the cable in situ. This leaves an empty armoured tube which can be repurposed as a tube or duct which can be used to support the deployment of a fibre cable.

[0038] In various examples, an existing copper cable in a telecommunications network is partially repurposed for deploying a new optical fibre connection. An existing copper cable in a telecommunications network typically comprises a copper core, an inner sheath, metal armouring around the inner sheath and an outer sheath. Various examples provide a device configured to remove the copper core of the existing cable, such that a new optical fibre core / cable may be inserted into the hollowed sheath of the existing cable. The device comprises a housing with an aperture and a winch, the aperture having a diameter greater than the inner sheath and copper core but less than the metal armouring. The existing copper cable may be stripped to expose a copper core section, and the copper core section may be inserted through the aperture and clamped to the winch. As the winch is operated, the metal armouring pushes against the housing as the copper core is extracted through the aperture. The device therefore generates a winching force without having to clamp another section of the existing cable, enabling the device to be used in more restricted environments, such as a footway box.

[0039] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of customer premises 100 such as a house and a footway box 104. In the example of FIG. 1 the house is on a street where there are aplurality of houses. The street has a footway 102 or pavement in which there are one or more footway boxes 104. A footway box 104 is a rectangular pit in the ground which has a cover. Within the footway box it is possible for an engineer to access underground cables 108 that travel under the ground from the customer premises 100 to the footway box and from the footway box connect to a telecommunications network 106.

[0040] In order to replace legacy copper cables 108 between the customer premises 100 and the footway box 104 it may be necessary to dig up the copper cables where these are buried underground or dig a new trench to lay a new duct or tube within which an optic fibre cable can be installed. However, excavation is time consuming, expensive and error prone. Another option is to leave the legacy cables in place and add optic fibre cables over ground. However, this leaves the optic fibre cables exposed to the elements and damage. Therefore it is beneficial to bury the optic fibre cables although doing so is expensive.

[0041] The armoured cable of the examples described herein is as explained with reference to FIG. 2.

[0042] FIG. 2 shows an armoured cable with an exposed core at one end. The exposed core comprises multiple copper wires 200 where each individual copper wire is in an insulating sheath. The copper wires are held within a paper wrapping 201 in an inner sheath 206. Around the copper wires 200 within the paper wrapping 201 it is filled with lubricant such as petroleum jelly . Surrounding the inner sheath 202 are armouring wires 204 which are steel or other hard metal and run generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the cable. The armouring wires 204 are held by an outer sheath 206 which is plastic. The outer sheath 206 may be polyethylene or poly vinyl chloride (PVC). The armouring wires 204 may be galvanised steel wire armouring. The inner sheath 202 may be polyethylene. The inner sheath 202 may be lubricant (e.g. petroleum jelly or grease) filled and hold copper core telephone wires 200. The cable comes in 2 pair, 5 pair, 10 pair, 20 pair, 50 pair, 100 pair, 200 pair and 300 pair.

[0043] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a winch being used to extract a core 200 from an armoured cable. The winch has a winch body 300 having a wall 304 containing an aperture into which an inner sheath of an end of the armoured cable is press fit. Armouring wires of the cable splay away from the cable and are bent away from the winch body. The armouring wires abut the wall 304 of the winch body. An outer sheath of the armoured cable also abuts the wall 304 of the winch body 300. The diameter of the outer sheath is larger than a diameter of the aperture. The diameter of the collection of armouring wires around the inner sheath is also larger than a diameter of the aperture.

[0044] The winch comprises a spool 302 to which a core of the armoured cable is attached in any suitable manner. The winch comprises one or more gears to facilitate winding of the spool in order to pull the core 200 of the armoured cable out leaving the inner sheath202, armouring wires 204 and outer sheath 206 in situ in the ground and / or abutting the wall 304.

[0045] Using a winch to pull the conductors from the core of an armoured cable is facilitated where they were originally manufactured to be in a lubricating jelly leaving the outer sheath, armouring and inner sheath forming a tube into which a new fibre optic cable can be inserted saving the need for digging up and replacing the copper cable with a fibre cable.

[0046] In some examples, a bundle of lubricated copper wires can be easily and tool- lessly wound in a figure of eight manner to a clamping plate that is designed to be inserted in a cut out in the winch spool. This gives sufficient grip to the cable cores to enable them to then be pulled out.

[0047] There is no need to pressurise the cable to expand it and then inject lubrication. Pressurising the cable is expensive and time consuming. It can also damage the armouring and / or inner and outer sheaths. There is no need to heat the core to help remove it. Heating the core is error prone, expensive and difficult where cables are underground.

[0048] Because of the strength of the armouring wires it is possible to “pull against” these to achieve extraction of the core. The armouring wires press against a body of the winch so that there is no need for additional clamping of the outer sheath of the cable.

[0049] FIG. 4 shows an example of a winch with a cable core fixed to a plate 402 of a spool 302 of the winch. The cable core enters the winch body through aperture 400, is passed through aperture 404 of plate 402 and then wound around plate 402 in a figure of eight path. The plate 402 is then held in a recess of the spool 302.

[0050] FIG. 5 shows a winch with a plate 402 in a spool 302 of the winch. In the example of FIG. 5 the cable core is not present. The aperture 400 in the body 300 of the winch is visible. In this example there is only one aperture although it is also possible to have more than one aperture of different sizes for different cable sizes. In some cases a wall or panel of the winch body 300 containing the aperture is replaceable (with panels having apertures of different diameters) in order to adapt the winch for cables of different diameters.

[0051] FIG. 6 shows the winch of FIG. 5 with the plate 402 detached from the spool 302. In the example of FIG. 6 the aperture 400 is visible through which the cable core is to enter the winch body 300. The spool 302 has a recess 600 to hold the plate 402. The recess 600 is sized and shaped to correspond to the plate 402. The recess has a protrusion 604 to engage with the plate 402. Extending from the recess 600 is a tapered channel 602 sized and shaped to guide a cable core towards the recess 600.

[0052] FIG. 7 shows a spool 302 of a winch such as the winch of FIG. 6. The spool is generally cylindrical. The spool may have the addition of ridges 700 running longitudinally along an outer surface of the spool in order to add additional grip to a cable core beingwound around the spool. The spool has a recess 600 to hold a plate and has a tapered channel 602 to guide a cable core into the recess 600.

[0053] FIG. 8A shows one side of a plate such as the plate of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. In the example of FIG. 8A the plate 402 is generally rectangular and comprises two channels one running along a full length of one shorter side of the rectangle and one running along only part of a length of the other shorter side of the rectangle. Within the channel that runs only part of the length of a shorter side of the rectangle is a hole 404 that passes through to the other side of the plate 402. FIG 8A also shows recess 606 in the plate 402 for engaging with protrusion 604 in the spool.

[0054] FIG. 8B shows the other side of the plate 402 of FIG. 8A. Hole 404 is visible which is the other side of hole 404 that passes through the plate from the channel visible in FIG. 8A. FIG. 8B shows two channels 802, 804 in a cross configuration. The channels intersect generally at a centre of the plate and continue around the sides of the plate into the channels shown in FIG. 8A. FIG 8B also shows recess 606 in the plate 402 for engaging with protrusion 604 in the spool.

[0055] In use, an end of the core of a cable is pushed into hole 404 via the channel visible in FIG. 8A. The core of the cable is pressed into the channel visible in the top of FIG. 8A and is wrapped around the plate and pressed into channel 804. It then wraps around the plate again and is pressed into the channel visible in the bottom of FIG. 8A. It then wraps around the plate again and is pressed into channel 802. By wrapping the core around the plate in this manner and by having the core cross over itself it is possible to firmly secure the core to the plate 402. The plate is then pressed into recess 600 so that the plate engages with protrusion 604. The core is pressed into tapered channel 602 which guides the core towards aperture 400. Tapered channel 602 generally points towards the aperture 400. In order to remove the plate from the spool 302 it is possible to pull the core out of tapered channel 602.

[0056] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method of extracting a core from an armoured cable and optionally inserting an optic fibre. An engineer opens a footway box and locates a legacy armoured cable entering the footway box from a domestic or other customer premises. The engineer strips back 900 an end of the legacy cable to expose armouring and to expose a core of the legacy cable comprising, for example, copper pairs. The engineer places 902 an inner sheath of the exposed end of the legacy cable into an aperture of a winch. The inner sheath is press fit into the aperture in some cases. Armouring wires and an outer sheath of the cable remain outside the body of the winch as explained with reference to FIG. 3. The armouring wires and outer sheath abut against an outer wall 304 of the winch body so there is no need for a tool or clamp to hold the armouring wires and outer sheath. The aperture is large enough for the inner sheath to pass through but small enough to stop the armouring and outer sheath to pass through sothat they can be used to apply the winching force against so that the outer of the cable does not have to be held or clamped in any other way.

[0057] The engineer winds 904 the exposed core of the end of the legacy cable around a plate and presses the plate into a recess in a spool of the winch. The spool may be serrated in order to provide additional grip of the core of the cable. In some cases the core is wound around the plate as described with reference to FIGs. 8A and 8B.

[0058] The winch mechanism is suspended from above (or below) within a footway box at the same height that the armoured cable enters the footway box so as not to cause any ‘lift’ to the box frame or ground whilst the core is being extracted.

[0059] The spool of the winch is rotated, either manually or using a motor or a hybrid of manual and motor. As the spool rotates the core of the legacy armoured cable is drawn out of the outer sheath, armouring and inner sheath. Where the core is surrounded by petroleum jelly or grease, pulling out of the core is facilitated since friction between the core and the rest of the cable is reduced. The core winds onto the spool and the engineer is able to judge, by assessing the amount of core on the spool, when to stop winding. In some cases the engineer continues winding until a second end of the core becomes visible or until the core becomes slack.

[0060] The engineer is optionally able to insert an optic fibre into the inner sheath that remains in situ. The empty armoured sheath can be repurposed as a tube or duct and fibre placed 908 through the coreless centre. In some examples optic fibre is pushed into the inner sheath, after the core has been removed, from the footway box to the customer premises or vice versa. The optical fibre at the customer premises is spliced 910 into a customer splice point. At the footway box the other end of the optic fibre is connected to the optic fibre network, this may be via a connectorised block terminal CBT.

[0061] In other examples, the optical fibre is connected to the legacy cable core in the customer premises. As the legacy core is drawn out of the armoured cable into the footway box, the optic fibre is pulled into the inner sheath of the armoured cable until eventually the optic fibre reaches the footway box. The optic fibre is joined to a customer splice point at the customer premises and to the optic fibre network in the footway box.

[0001] Any reference to 'an' item refers to one or more of those items. The term 'comprising' is used herein to mean including the method blocks or elements identified, but that such blocks or elements do not comprise an exclusive list and an apparatus may contain additional blocks or elements and a method may contain additional operations or elements. Furthermore, the blocks, elements and operations are themselves not impliedly closed.

[0002] The steps of the methods described herein may be carried out in any suitable order, or simultaneously where appropriate. The arrows between boxes in the figures show one example sequence of method steps but are not intended to exclude othersequences or the performance of multiple steps in parallel. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from any of the methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. Aspects of any of the examples described above may be combined with aspects of any of the other examples described to form further examples without losing the effect sought. Where elements of the figures are shown connected by arrows, it will be appreciated that these arrows show just one example flow of communications (including data and control messages) between elements. The flow between elements may be in either direction or in both directions.

[0003] Where the description has explicitly disclosed in isolation some individual features, any apparent combination of two or more such features is considered also to be disclosed, to the extent that such features or combinations are apparent and capable of being carried out based on the present specification as a whole in the light of the common general knowledge of a person skilled in the art, irrespective of whether such features or combinations of features solve any problems disclosed herein. In view of the foregoing description it will be evident to a person skilled in the art that various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A method of removing a core of an armoured cable comprising: within a footway box, locating the cable entering the footway box from an end user premises, the cable having a core surrounded by armouring wires, the armouring wires held between an inner sheath and an outer sheath of the cable; attaching an exposed end of the core to a winch in the footway box by threading the exposed end of the core through an aperture in a body of the winch and attaching the exposed end of the core to a spool of the winch; the aperture being sized and shaped such that the outer sheath and armouring wires abut or are held by the body of the winch in use, when the spool is rotated, to pull the core from the end user premises onto the spool thereby leaving the outer sheath, armouring wires and inner sheath in situ.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the core is in a lubricant within the inner sheath.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the aperture is in a replaceable panel of the winch body such that panels with different diameters of aperture are useable according to a diameter of the cable core or inner sheath; or wherein the winch body comprises a plurality of apertures of different dimensions for different diameters of the cable core or inner sheath.

4. The method of any preceding claim wherein the aperture is large enough for the inner sheath to pass through but small enough to stop the armouring wires and outer sheath to pass through.

5. The method of any preceding claim wherein the cable is not held or clamped in any other way within the footway box.

6. The method of any preceding claim wherein the aperture is sized and shaped for a press fit between the inner sheath and the aperture.

7. The method of any preceding claim wherein exposing the end of the core comprises removing part of the outer sheath and exposing ends of the armouring wires, and bending the armouring wires away from the inner sheath such that they abut the winch body.

8. The method of any preceding claim wherein attaching the exposed end of the core to the spool comprises winding the exposed end of the core around a plate and then attaching the plate to the spool.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein attaching the plate to the spool comprises pressing the plate into a recess in the spool, the recess sized and shaped to receive the plate.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the plate comprises a plurality of channels and wherein the core is held around the plate by being pressed into the channels.11 . The method of claim 10 wherein at least two of the channels intersect.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the channels form a figure of eight on the plate.

13. The method of any preceding claim comprising adjustably suspending the winch from a rim of the footway box such that the aperture and spool are approximately level with the cable such that in use, the cable core is wound onto the spool without lifting the cable.

14. The method of any preceding claim comprising, replacing the core by an optic fibre by either: attaching the optic fibre to a core of the cable at the end user premises, such that as the winch is operated the core is replaced with optic fibre by pulling the optic fibre into the inner sheath of the cable as the core of the cable is pulled out of the cable; or after the cable core has been wound onto the spool, removing the winch from the footway box, and pushing the optic fibre into the inner sheath from the footway box into the customer premises.

15. An apparatus for removing a core of an armoured cable, the cable having a core surrounded by armouring wires, the armouring wires held between an inner sheath and an outer sheath of the cable, the apparatus comprising: a winch sized and shaped to be used in a footway box into which the cable enters from an end user premises, the winch having a body housing a spool and where there is an aperture in the winch body; an attachment mechanism for attaching an exposed end of the core to the winch by threading the exposed end of the core through the aperture and attaching the exposed end of the core to the spool; the aperture being sized and shaped such that the outer sheath and armouring wires abut or are held by the body of the winch in use, when the spool is rotated, to pull the core from the end user premises onto the spool thereby leaving the outer sheath, armouring wires and inner sheath in situ.

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