[resident2016uk]

Hi. whilst the questions regarding internet security are at the bottom, I though it better to give some background information first:

A Virgin Media engineer came to install cabling to a flat two floors above us and to the left of our flat (we are on the ground floor). The other flat is not directly above us. The engineer didn't even have a ladder (I can only assume he drilled a hole through the wall of the flat upstairs and dropped
the cable down through it) (please see picture 1). As there was no ladder, nearly all of the black cable running upwards hasn't even been attached to the wall. ((Though this is a separate issue, the only thing that stops the cable from swinging in front of another residents window is the cable has been placed against the lid of small electric box to stop it from swinging out)).


Back to the subject at hand. Rather than using the grey cable which comes from the ground and is situated directly below the second floor flat,
which the engineer has pulled out from a brown plastic cover and left hanging outside (see picture 2), the engineer has instead installed
a new black cable and has put this cable across the wall of our flat on the ground floor and connected it up with the grey cable that goes
directly into our flat using a splitter (the small metal box shown in picture 3).

We used to be with Virgin Media, which is why this grey cable has been put inside our flat. Incidentally, the flats directly above us each have
separate grey cables going inside their home and haven't used splitters.

As you can see from pictures 2, 3 and 4, each length of grey cable is made up of two tubes (i.e two smaller cables which are attached together).
The service engineer has taken one of the two tubes in the length of cable and used a splitter to attach one of them, whilst leaving the other part of the cable alone (i.e the second tube).

Though we don't use this line (as we use BT, which is a different line), the cable still goes into our home.
I was wondering if anyone can help with these questions:

1. I can only assume the cable in picture 2 was not used because it might have been bad (I'm guessing the cables on the estate are at least 15 to 20 years old)...but any ideas why the engineer didn't just cut a metre or two off the end of the grey cable situated directly below the flat (in picture 2) and connect the splitter and black cable to this cable, instead of using the cable that goes into our home (which is another ten metres away)?

2. If this is being used for the internet, is there a security issue here for either property (as they are using the cable which goes into our property)?

3. If we decided to go back to Virgin Media, could we use this same cable line again, and would this then become a security internet issue?

4. If we use powerline adapters for the internet, would this have any effect?

Apologies if too many questions. Virgin Media have given me a headache.

Many thanks for comments.

Regards,

Anxious resident