Inside Wire: ‘Future-Proofing’ Your New

Home For Today's High-Speed Networks

By Minnesota Telephone Association

Technology is changing at a dizzying pace -- sometimes it’s even hard for the professionals to keep up. So how does an average consumer make sure the phone wiring in a new home can take advantage of today’s -- and tomorrow’s -- high-speed data and video technology? By making sure a builder, electrician or communications wiring contractor knows what you want before the interior walls are in place.

“It’s much cheaper to get the wiring right before the interior walls are in,” says Terry Crawford, director of outside plant at Integra Telecom, the local telephone company serving Prior Lake. “Trying to wire a house afterwards is much tougher because basement walls are usually finished.” Crawford says consumers need to think about what they want and where they want it, and then communicate their wishes to wiring installers. He also advises consumers to think ahead, to ask questions like: “Will the bedroom become a den in a few years? Will the family room be an office?”

At the very least, according to Dirk Berger, manager of New Prague-based Eckles Telephone Co., “You need to say: ‘I want video, data and telephone.’ And you need to ask: ‘What do I need to do to get that?’” If you don’t ask, your phone wiring will meet code but it might not handle today’s high-speed Internet, much less what tomorrow brings.

“Don’t assume builders will know what you need,” warns Berger. “You have to request it.” Adds Crawford, “Some builders don’t like to use more advanced wiring because it costs more and it’s more work to put in.”

Here is the minimum that Jim Walter, president of 702 Connections in Moorhead, and other experts think you need to “future-proof” the phone wiring inside your new home:

• Insist on Category 5 wiring, preferably Category 5e, and RG6 coaxial cable. “Cat 5” handles simultaneous voice and data; “coax” pre-wires homes for cable or satellite TV.
• Insist that all wiring “home run” straight to a central point, typically where your local phone line enters your house, so each phone outlet or jack is independent of all others. “If your outlets are not dedicated, you could have problems in all outlets later,” notes Crawford.
• Use Cat 5 jacks wherever a high-speed connection, such as a DSL modem or a computer, may be needed. If a home has an internal LAN, Cat 5 jacks should be installed wherever a piece of equipment will be connected to the LAN.
• Installers should be familiar with Cat 5 installation guidelines, including minimum bending radii and the fact that electrical and phone wiring shouldn’t run parallel for more than 3 feet. Installers should also put the deepest boxes available into walls.
• Installers should test each jack to verify 100-megabyte capacity.
• Builders should provide access areas where fiber optic cable can be added later.

Consumers can do even more, of course. More expensive Cat 6 wiring is necessary if you want to be ready for gigabyte speeds or your wires are expected to be close to the maximum of 100 meters. Dave Kaun of Elert & Associates, a technology and consulting training firm, suggests a faceplate outlet -- with separate jacks for voice, data and TV -- in every room, with two faceplates in the family or TV room. A second coax to each faceplate in the TV room will allow for originating TV signals to other locations. He also suggests adding speaker wiring between those two faceplates if you want to hide surround sound wires; and make sure these faceplates have separate speaker jacks. The Cat 5 or 6 can also be used to carry baseband video and audio or even cable TV using a passive device called a balun.

If you know you will have a multiple computer network in your new home and thus need to share a high-speed Internet connection such as DSL or cable modem, you need inside wiring that can handle the job. But even if you’re not at that stage now, you need to be prepared for the day when high-speed lines are connected to your home by “future proofing” your inside wiring when you build. Although wireless networks may seem easier to install, the speed and security that comes with wired networks is hard to beat.