Here's really good news for everyone who has Internet
service at home, more than one home computer, one or more home telephone
lines and a fax machine-and for anyone who expects to hook up any
combination of these devices someday soon: The Federal Communications
Commission (USA) recently issued a new rule requiring that all telephone
wiring installed inside homes and other buildings must meet new standards.
The rule, which applies to new and retrofit telephone-wire installations
made after July 8, 2000, is aimed at assuring that all inside wiring
can meet the demands of voice, video and data transmissions now and
for the foreseeable future.
"Installers, builders, home remodelers and consumers should note that
the new FCC rule specifies Category 3 wiring or better," says William
T. Black, vice-president for wire and cable with the Copper Development
Association Inc. "The emphasis should be on better," Black insists,
recommending more powerful copper wiring instead of the minimum.
"Today Category 5 and Category 5E copper communications wiring are
the recognized standard for broadband services," explains Black, "with
several times greater capacity and speed than needed for today's high-speed
Internet services, such as DSL and cable modems. Categories 5 and
5E have six times the information-carrying capacity of Category 3,
providing a comfortable cushion for the future at little additional
cost."
Category-type telephone cable consists of four twisted pairs of insulated
copper wire and offers service benefits over old-style telephone cable,
typically made up of two untwisted pairs, designed for analog voice
service. The additional pairs of wires in category-type cable make
it easier to hook up multiple phone lines and network home computers,
and the precise twisting of the wires speeds communication while reducing
static, signal degradation and cross-talk between separate lines bundled
together.
Impetus for the new telephone wiring standard came when a not-for-profit
professional association of designers and installers of telecommunications
systems called BICSI petitioned the FCC in 1995 after receiving many
consumer complaints about inferior phone wiring. Ronald Provost, BICSI's
governmental relations representative and chairman of the FCC Ad Hoc
Administrative Committee that wrote the new standard, recalls receiving
reports of lamp cord and bell wire being used for home telephone hookups.
"Now that we've succeeded in setting the new minimum requirement,"
says Provost, "we've got to get the word out."
"This new standard will benefit consumers as carriers deploy broadband
services that are more demanding than traditional voice telecommunications,"
comments CDA's Black. "People shouldn't hesitate to install phone
jacks now wherever they think they might need them in the future--wherever
they or the next family that owns their home might want to plug in
a laptop or other communications device."
Advanced telephone cable is available at electrical-supply outlets
and electronics stores. The cable sheathing should be clearly marked
with the category designation. Unlike old-style telephone wiring,
with which individual jacks were typically wired in series, category-type
cable requires a "home run" configuration. Each outlet is wired separately
to a central distribution device or hub.
For more information on telecommunications wiring, visit the Copper
Development Association Web site at http://www.copper.org/applications/telecomm/.
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