Have you ever been Shocked working on your Telephones???

[Stephen Furley]

Over here we have something called CWSS, I can't remember what it stands for, but it's used to deliver 2Mb/s over two copper pairs for various services.  The pairs have a warning label attached to them that they carry 120 V, and they use red/white jumper wires for it rather than the usual blue/yellow.  We used to have it for an Internet connection many years ago, it connected to a line powered NTE where the service was presented as G.703 which we converted to X.21 which went into the router; all replaced by 100 Mb fibre many years ago now.  I don't know how much current it could source.

I've had 240 V mains across me probably about half a dozen times, mainly as a child when I had a habit of taking things to bits to find out how they worked.  I also had it once as an adult, about 25 years ago when I was connecting the mains cable to a rectifier for a film projector after having connected it to the mains (not a good idea) and the metal and Bakelite connector at the projector end fell apart in my hands.   It's not pleasant,  but most people who get 240 V across them will survive the experience.  Obviously, some do not, even at much lower Voltages you can get enough current to kill you.  Certainly not recommended.

I have just once had 415 V.  I was standing on some scaffolding which was not earthed, and due to a fault was live on one phase.  I was not aware of this, and due to my own carelessnes touched a busbar which was quite properly live on another phase.  That was really painful, and certainly not recommended.

I used to know somebody who survived 11 kV in a substation; he had no memory at all of it happening, but remembered being in hospital with major burns.  There are a few people, usually children,  who survive contact with 25 kV railway OHLE, usually with terrible burns.