Ethernet Cable Wiring.

[dexman]

This past Saturday, I was helping a friend move some boxes from her old apartment into a new one.

Being the curious/nosey person that I am, I asked her I could look in the basement to see what the cabling looks like where everything enters the house. After a quick eyeroll, she pointed at the door and I was off to the races.

I found two Alcatel-Lucent/Nokia ONTs mounted in a storage closet.

The coaxial cabling could use a little consolidation. But the Ethernet cable present had me do a double-take.

Ethernet Connection

Seeing the way that the ethernet cable pairs are broken out has me shaking my head. For CAT3/voice connections, this is ok. But Internet???? 🤨

[jonjones1]

You know the old saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” 😀

[dexman]

I know. Because both ONTs have only three illuminated LEDs I suspect that neither one is active.

If she and her husband decide to go with FiOS, I may offer to give the apartment's existing cabling a once-over. 🙂

[gs0b]

Verizon techs have used these terminal block for some time.  It's an easy way to terminate an Ethernet cable when you don't want to muck around with installing plugs.  Those are a pain to install, even with the right tools.  As long as the twists are kept as close as possible to the termination block, this works fine. 

I agree that it's ugly, though.  I'd never use these blocks myself.  But like jonjones, I wouldn't touch an existing, working install if I didn't have other reason besides it's appearance.

[Cang_Household]

Dexman, I agree with you. That block should not be there. The technician should just route an Ethernet cable to the router if it is close. An Ethernet cable should be more economical than a splicing block.

[dexman]

That's my feeling.

During my 23 years as an IXC/CLEC technician, we never split apart the pairs in ethernet cables when used for high speed data. I'm fairly certain that the cable run would fail Certification.

That breakout, for voice service, is 👍

For data service, it is 👎

[gs0b]

The pairs are maintained up to the block.  As long as the twists are kept as close as possible to the block, this ugly thing works.  I've seen it used when there is structured wiring in place that can't be replaced with pre-terminated cable.

If I were doing the initial install work on such a cable, I'd terminate it to something with a CAT-5e/6/7 RJ-45 jack, then run a short pre-terminated patch cable between the ONT and the jack.  It could be as simple as a single jack like ones you can buy at the big home centers, a patch panel, or even a 110 block.  The choice would depend on how many other cables are part of the structured wiring system, how much future flexibility is anticipated, and how much room there is to install components.

If I took ownership / responsibility of this install, I probably would eventually replace that thing as I like neater looking wiring.  But it would be low on my list if it's working fine.  If it's not my resposibilty, I definitely wouldn't touch it.  Otherwise, I'd end up owning it forever.... (been there, done that.)

[dexman]

Looking at the pictures I took of the ONTs, my hunch is that the unit with the ethernet cable is for the home owner's apartment. There is a second unit that only has a ground wire and coaxial cable connected. Based upon the cables in the rental apartment, the second ONT would be used by my friend, should she decide to switch to Verizon once everything is settled.

I too, would replace the breakout with true data-centric hardware. I'm partial to Systimax, so a CAT6A jack with a 2-port surface mount enclosure and short patch cord would be my go-to.

I'll try to post some of the other pictures I took of the units. The coaxial cable could use some refreshing.

[dexman]

Coaxial Cabling #1Coaxial Cabling #2Coaxial Cabling #3ONT #2

[dexman]

I ran an errand for my friend this afternoon. When i pulled up to the new apartment, I saw a Comcast truck parked in front. Was told that her husband insists on Comcast. 🙄

Oh well..... 😐