From: andrew@cucumber.demon.co.uk   
      
   In article ,   
   	"J.B. Wood"  writes:   
   > Hello, everyone.  Historically (at least in the U.S.), the positive   
   > terminal of the 48-volt battery stack at the central office is   
   > intentionally connected to an earth ground.  I can't seem to find any   
   > info on why this is necessary or how it improves/facilitates the   
   > operation of a traditional analog common battery telephone system.   
   > Thanks for your time and comment.  Sincerely,   
      
   It's done that way so that any water leak into the cable bundles   
   or connections which results in electrolysis between the connections   
   and ground doesn't cause the metal conductors to be corroded away.   
      
   --   
   Andrew Gabriel   
   [email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)