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1.How is one gas company send their natural gas to your home,when you switch from another one? Since,the pipe(s) or whatever is already established at your home,so does the new gas company have to do something about it?
2.For your land line,is there basically a phone line underground going for miles and miles? If so,then why are telephone poles needed?
Very confusing initial post but I'll try to answer. I would assume the gas line is part of the house set-up for utilities and thus it doesn't matter whether or not you switch companies as neither has "rights" to it. As far as the telephone question is concerned I'm even more confused. Some areas have underground wiring and some have telephone poles and some have both. What's the question? Cheers!
Do you mean natural gas or propane? Most natural gas providers have a granted monopoly, and switching between them isn't possible.
In propane set ups, in many cases you don't own the tank and are required by contract to use only the company who provided the tank for fill-ups. In other cases you own the tank outright and can fill-up with any company.
Like the other person said, phone lines can be either buried underground, or on telephone poles or a combination of both. Your phone line goes to a phone company central office which can be a couple of miles away. When you call your neighbor across the street, your phone line connects with your neighbor's phone line in the central office.
Government has forced competition in some places under the theory that it will prompt lower prices (I don't think it is a success).
In some states you can choose from dozens of gas and/or electricity companies that offer different rates and terms. The delivery infrastructure (pipes, wires, meters) is owned and operated by a separate company that charges the retail company for delivery and that charge is sometimes detailed on your bill. Phone competition is also available in some places where a company provides a service but pays the owner of the lines as a cost of doing business.
How would you find out the name of the owner (company) of your phone lines and/or the owner of the delivery infrastructure?
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