Current on Phone Line?

I'm a homeowner with limited electrical skills, but I have added phone lines in my homes in the past. In the house I own now, I get a very strong shock from one of the four wires in my telephone line. The current is present in the line before it enters the house and is constant (i.e., not present just during ringing).

The line runs underground from a telephone utility box near the street -- is it possible it's crossing a buried electrical wire and picking up current there? Is there any way this could be considered normal?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Phone lines have voltage on them all the time, and when ringing, there's more. If you've ever had the chance to look at a telephone company's office, you'd see huge banks of batteries.

Thanks for the reply.

I understand about the constant voltage. In researching this question before posting, I found a number of people who were shocked by a phone line because they handled it when the phone happened to ring and the voltage was higher, but didn't have any problem handling the line when the phone was in its normal state. My point was that my problem line provides a strong shock at any time (I hate to think what it would be like while ringing).

It's not normal and could be a fire hazard. Call the phone company.

DC voltage, unless from high voltage, doesn't usually get noticed. If there is high a/c voltage there, you'd notice, and that isn't normally there unless it is sending the ring signal. High current in either a/c or dc can be dangerous.

Phone line voltage is approx 48 volts. Ring voltage is approximately 96 volts. It sounds like you have more than 48 volts so I'd make a call to the phone company and get it checked out.

-rick