What kind of wire brings Internet into your home?

[Mike45]

I'm building a new house and in my conversation with my builder he wants to know what kind of wire I want throughout the house. He is recommending cable TV wire and phone wire.

I think I should have Cat 5 instead of the phone wire. What do you have and why? What do you recommend?

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Crossy]

In our case, none as we have TOT WiNet (a wimax variant), ADSL comes over your regular phone lines and there is Docsis cable which shares the cable TV wire. All have a modem / router at the end which you connect your computers to by ethernet or WiFi.

If you're running cables through the house run at least CAT-5 (preferably CAT-6) from a central location where you can put a switch or router to all your points. If you want to use it for phones instead of data it will work just fine, the opposite (data over phone cable) won't.

For the TVs run good quality satellite cable, again from a central point preferably near where your dish will go (if you're having satellite).

[jimmybcool]

Your title is asking a different question than your post.

The wire coming into my home that carries internet (in the states) is cable. I also carries cable TV. This is probably the best available unless you live somewhere with fiberoptic into the home. Not sure where that is yet.

Once in the house I use cable to the TVs and wireless for phones and internet.

[Langsuan Man]

Future proof yourself now while it is cheaper. Have all three installed ( coaxial, CAT 5 or 6, regular phone line). The cost of the various types of wire is minimal now, but installation later on can be a nightmare, if even possible

My builder promised me "access" points in the ceiling to add CAT 5 later on, but when he did a runner it was too late / expensive to have the new builder do it

[thaimite]

Install CAT6 cabling as you may want the Gigabit speeds that it can cope with later. There is no need to use phone wires (CAT3), as CAT 5 or 6 can be used for such purposes. This is standard practice here on my work site, Thus pulling multiple CAT 6 (or 5) to each location is easier and will cover most of your future needs. You can also install a Co-AXial for TV signals if you wish however more and more TV is becoming digitised and streaming TV between locations over Ethernet will get more popular.

Edited November 27, 2013 by thaimite

[wayned]

I have standard telephone wire that is run 924 meters from the line extender amplifier so running anything better in my house won't improve performance and there's no upgrade in sight as I live in the sticks and it took 6 years just to get the internet. 5MB is all that I get but it's better than dial up or edge. What you put in your house will be limited to what is run to your house.

[h90]

I Europe I would recommend to put big tubes into the walls so you can add whatever wires you may need in 10 years.

But I don't know if that is good for Thailand, because animals may hide inside???

[thaimite]

You should always run data cables in plastic conduit. This will avoid degradation of the cables due to the long term corrosive nature of the cement / plaster in the walls. The ends of the conduit can (and should) be stopped with a silicone sealant or similar. This 'plug' can be removed if it is desired to add or change cables in the future. I suspect ants will be your biggest problem.

The statement that you do not need such cables around the house unless you have a fast internet connection is a fallacy. The future is more and more interconnected devices in the home.

For example I have a central disk storage (NAS) that can stream movies to all the TVs in the house (it stops the kids ruining / loosing the original DVD). You may wish to share data between multiple computers of have a central disk storage which can be backed up for those family photos etc. Perhaps in the future you intend to add a home security system? This will almost certainly be IP (computer network) based and the ability to view the cameras from any location in the house is a worthwhile bonus.

Granted much of the above can be done by wireless but it has its own problems and limitations and if available a wired connection is always to be preferred.

.

Therefore my recommendation would be, at a minimum to install plastic conduit everywhere it may be needed. If you you do decide to pull cables now, use the best quality you can. It will be an almost insignificant extra expense in the overall scheme of things and will future proof you as much as possible.

Good quality CAT 6 cables can always be used for lower speed digital or analogue devices such as telephones but not the other way round. Dont forget to keep your data cables separated from any power cables. a 100mm (4 inch) spacing is recommended but this can be reduced for short runs.

Finally when the day eventually arrives that yur ISP tells you that you can have a 100Mb Internet cable to your door (probably within the next 5 years) you do not want to have to rip out all your old wiring to get the benefits of your new connected home.

I Europe I would recommend to put big tubes into the walls so you can add whatever wires you may need in 10 years.

But I don't know if that is good for Thailand, because animals may hide inside???

[Sophon]

In our case, none as we have TOT WiNet (a wimax variant), ADSL comes over your regular phone lines and there is Docsis cable which shares the cable TV wire. All have a modem / router at the end which you connect your computers to by ethernet or WiFi.

If you're running cables through the house run at least CAT-5 (preferably CAT-6) from a central location where you can put a switch or router to all your points. If you want to use it for phones instead of data it will work just fine, the opposite (data over phone cable) won't.

For the TVs run good quality satellite cable, again from a central point preferably near where your dish will go (if you're having satellite).

Hi Crossy

TOT WiNet seems to be the only option for the new house we are currently building. You say that you have no wires to bring the signal into your home, how exactly does that work? As I understand it TOT installs a receiver outside your house (am I wrong about that?). How does the signal get from that receiver to the modem/router inside your house? I assume that there has to be electricity available for the receiver.

I very soon have to have any required electrical and communication cables installed, as we are almost finished building the walls. So I would appreciate a description of how the different elements in the TOT WiNet solution are connected.

Thanks.

Sophon

[draftvader]

Black, poorly insulated, barely attached?

[mgjackson69]

I have standard telephone wire that is run 924 meters from the line extender amplifier so running anything better in my house won't improve performance and there's no upgrade in sight as I live in the sticks and it took 6 years just to get the internet. 5MB is all that I get but it's better than dial up or edge. What you put in your house will be limited to what is run to your house.

True enough...but it would suck if 5 years down the road the limiting factor was inside the house, because one chose to save a few baht.

[sfokevin]

Whatever you run thru the conduit to your house have them add a nylon fishing rope so you can pull any future cable thru it - like the emerging fiber optic...

[h90]

You should always run data cables in plastic conduit. This will avoid degradation of the cables due to the long term corrosive nature of the cement / plaster in the walls. The ends of the conduit can (and should) be stopped with a silicone sealant or similar. This 'plug' can be removed if it is desired to add or change cables in the future. I suspect ants will be your biggest problem.

The statement that you do not need such cables around the house unless you have a fast internet connection is a fallacy. The future is more and more interconnected devices in the home.

For example I have a central disk storage (NAS) that can stream movies to all the TVs in the house (it stops the kids ruining / loosing the original DVD). You may wish to share data between multiple computers of have a central disk storage which can be backed up for those family photos etc. Perhaps in the future you intend to add a home security system? This will almost certainly be IP (computer network) based and the ability to view the cameras from any location in the house is a worthwhile bonus.

Granted much of the above can be done by wireless but it has its own problems and limitations and if available a wired connection is always to be preferred.

.

Therefore my recommendation would be, at a minimum to install plastic conduit everywhere it may be needed. If you you do decide to pull cables now, use the best quality you can. It will be an almost insignificant extra expense in the overall scheme of things and will future proof you as much as possible.

Good quality CAT 6 cables can always be used for lower speed digital or analogue devices such as telephones but not the other way round. Dont forget to keep your data cables separated from any power cables. a 100mm (4 inch) spacing is recommended but this can be reduced for short runs.

Finally when the day eventually arrives that yur ISP tells you that you can have a 100Mb Internet cable to your door (probably within the next 5 years) you do not want to have to rip out all your old wiring to get the benefits of your new connected home.

I Europe I would recommend to put big tubes into the walls so you can add whatever wires you may need in 10 years.

But I don't know if that is good for Thailand, because animals may hide inside???

I bought cat 7 on internet on ebay. It wasn't more expensive (beside the shipping) they are more stiff, but since I use them all network problems are gone. Sometimes some computer connected only with 100 Mbit without obvious reason, now all connect always with 1GB.

[RandomSand]

Lots of conflicting advice being given. CAT5e supports gigabit ethernet upto 100 meters. CAT6a supports 10-gigabit at around 50 meters. If you want gigabit connectivity then all 8 wires in the cable must be fully terminated (100meg will work on 4 wires.)

Like a previous poster mentioned; telephones can be plugged into a ethernet (RJ45) socket by way of adaptors.

If running network cables in you new house then have a think about where you'd like all the cables to meet-up. This would be your "master wiring" closet or cabinet. Your incoming telecoms lines/kit & router-firewall should be located here too.

Personally I'd have RJ45 sockets next to every power outlet fed by CAT5e. I'd also put network sockets in the ceiling space for wireless units... You'll need power for the devices up there too.

Edited November 28, 2013 by RandomSand

[Crossy]

In our case, none as we have TOT WiNet (a wimax variant), ADSL comes over your regular phone lines and there is Docsis cable which shares the cable TV wire. All have a modem / router at the end which you connect your computers to by ethernet or WiFi.

If you're running cables through the house run at least CAT-5 (preferably CAT-6) from a central location where you can put a switch or router to all your points. If you want to use it for phones instead of data it will work just fine, the opposite (data over phone cable) won't.

For the TVs run good quality satellite cable, again from a central point preferably near where your dish will go (if you're having satellite).

Hi Crossy

TOT WiNet seems to be the only option for the new house we are currently building. You say that you have no wires to bring the signal into your home, how exactly does that work? As I understand it TOT installs a receiver outside your house (am I wrong about that?). How does the signal get from that receiver to the modem/router inside your house? I assume that there has to be electricity available for the receiver.

I very soon have to have any required electrical and communication cables installed, as we are almost finished building the walls. So I would appreciate a description of how the different elements in the TOT WiNet solution are connected.

Thanks.

Sophon

TOT install a small dish with an integrated receiver and router, either on a gable or (as ours is) on a pole. Said dish points at a tower up to 10km away, line of sight so you may have little choice where the dish goes.

A single outdoor CAT-6 cable runs from that to a power-over-ethernet box inside your home which provides power to the router so that needs a power outlet nearby.

From there you can go directly to a single PC or to a switch / router for WiFi to your devices.

There are a couple of threads about the pros and cons of TOT WiNet.

[keeniau96]

I have same TOT WiNet as Crossy and confirm his comments. SOme very good comments re the cabling, particularly by RandomSand. If I had to do my house over again (6 years old now) I would have the master closet and Cat5e in conduits into every room terminating in a RJ-45. Remember that you can connect a 600 baht 4-port Ethernet switch to that RJ-45 and connect devices as needed/desired. Above all put the wiring in conduits, rats and mice love to eat insulation.

[Sophon]

In our case, none as we have TOT WiNet (a wimax variant), ADSL comes over your regular phone lines and there is Docsis cable which shares the cable TV wire. All have a modem / router at the end which you connect your computers to by ethernet or WiFi.

If you're running cables through the house run at least CAT-5 (preferably CAT-6) from a central location where you can put a switch or router to all your points. If you want to use it for phones instead of data it will work just fine, the opposite (data over phone cable) won't.

For the TVs run good quality satellite cable, again from a central point preferably near where your dish will go (if you're having satellite).

Hi Crossy

TOT WiNet seems to be the only option for the new house we are currently building. You say that you have no wires to bring the signal into your home, how exactly does that work? As I understand it TOT installs a receiver outside your house (am I wrong about that?). How does the signal get from that receiver to the modem/router inside your house? I assume that there has to be electricity available for the receiver.

I very soon have to have any required electrical and communication cables installed, as we are almost finished building the walls. So I would appreciate a description of how the different elements in the TOT WiNet solution are connected.

Thanks.

Sophon

TOT install a small dish with an integrated receiver and router, either on a gable or (as ours is) on a pole. Said dish points at a tower up to 10km away, line of sight so you may have little choice where the dish goes.

A single outdoor CAT-6 cable runs from that to a power-over-ethernet box inside your home which provides power to the router so that needs a power outlet nearby.

From there you can go directly to a single PC or to a switch / router for WiFi to your devices.

There are a couple of threads about the pros and cons of TOT WiNet.

Thanks Crossy. Sorry for the late reply, busy with the house build.

So if I understand you correctly, I will have to determine where the nearest transmitter tower is, and lead a CAT-6 from where I want the modem/router to be located to the side of the house facing that transmitter. Alternatively, I can just install the conduits and let TOT run the cable through those.

Correct?

Sophon

[Mike45]

I located Cat 6 cable and I'm having it run throughout the house in conduits from a central location instead of the telephone cable. I asked my builder what was available for internet on the street just outside our development and he said everything! He uses 3BB at his site office.

Thanks for everyone's help

[Crossy]

Thanks Crossy. Sorry for the late reply, busy with the house build.

So if I understand you correctly, I will have to determine where the nearest transmitter tower is, and lead a CAT-6 from where I want the modem/router to be located to the side of the house facing that transmitter. Alternatively, I can just install the conduits and let TOT run the cable through those.

TOT or whoever has service to your location will do a site survey, usually with a receiver on a bamboo pole, I doubt you'll be able to determine for yourself which way the antenna needs to point.

Talk to your local office and get them to do a survey. Have you started construction yet?

[Sophon]

Thanks Crossy. Sorry for the late reply, busy with the house build.

So if I understand you correctly, I will have to determine where the nearest transmitter tower is, and lead a CAT-6 from where I want the modem/router to be located to the side of the house facing that transmitter. Alternatively, I can just install the conduits and let TOT run the cable through those.

TOT or whoever has service to your location will do a site survey, usually with a receiver on a bamboo pole, I doubt you'll be able to determine for yourself which way the antenna needs to point.

Talk to your local office and get them to do a survey. Have you started construction yet?

Yes, we are well on the way with the build. This is where we are now (more or less):

As you can see we are at the point where all the conduits are going in, so it's time to decide where everything goes.

Thanks for your help. I have some more electrical questions for you if you don't mind, but I will ask those in my own topic.

Sophon

[NeverSure]

FWIW, I built a new home just a few years ago in the US. I had every room in the house wired with CAT 6. I get my internet from cable.

I have the fastest cable internet in the US - 40Mbps. Over time as routers improved, I no longer needed the cables. N is faster than 40Mbps so I have no loss running wireless through the house. I do have one repeater upstairs for guests.

All of those wires are now useless and if I was doing it over I'd put in fiber optic for the future. I live in the country where no fiber optic is available yet and my cable is the fastest I can get.

(BTW, someone was getting 100Mbps and now gets a gig?????) Is this fiber?

[NeverSure]

I located Cat 6 cable and I'm having it run throughout the house in conduits from a central location instead of the telephone cable. I asked my builder what was available for internet on the street just outside our development and he said everything! He uses 3BB at his site office.

Thanks for everyone's help

You will still have just one cable coming into your house for internet. Your router probably won't have enough wired ports to accept all of your house wiring. That means that you will need an ethernet switch to plug them into. You can use a short jumper cable from one out port on the router to the switch, and then plug all of your house wires into that switch.

Some switches have a port marked "in," but most modern switches are duplex and you can plug the wire from the router into any port in the switch. The switch just needs enough ports out to accept all of your house wires. Switches are cheap and come in many sizes for # of ports. The switch needs no setup other than to be powered of and on after the router gets its signal from the modem. The switch gets its signal from the router.

The router will assign the switch an IP, and the switch will assign IP's to every node connected to it be it a computer, printer, etc. So the switch will created a subnet, and point all internet traffic to the router. The router will see only the switch, but the switch will remember which node requested data such as a web page, and direct that to the correct node.

Don't let all of that confuse you. As I said, the switch is plug and play and just works.

[thaimite]

There has been a lot of very good advice on this thread, but also some misleading statements.

Here is my list of items for the almost perfect installtion. i am sure I have forgotten a few things

1. The OP must decide where his Internet communication equipment will be located. This needs to be easily accessible as it may need reset or changes made. All cables (external and Internal cables will come to this location. It will house the Modem/Router (may be one or 2 pieces of equipment) All internal interfaces start/ end there. Mine is my study / computer room. This location should also have UPS power.
2. Provide conduit to the outside to allow the telecoms provider to get the cables to your study. Normally the ISP will provide these cables which are NOT normally CAT 6 but either high grade telephone cable or as in my case fibre.
3. Decide where you want your data outlets. If it is not a problem I would provide for a dual data outlet at every power point, and provide conduit from each data point back to your communications room. Cables do not need to be run at this stage but the provision of conduit is a minor expense and easily done at this stage. Ideally data cables should be kept 100mm from power cables and should never be run in the same conduit (both for safety and data corruption reasons) Note there is a lot of talk about Internet aware devices and in the future even your fridge / freezer or microwave may need its own data outlet.
4. Conduit should ideally be sized for 2 of CAT6A cables This will allow speeds of up to 10GB/s per cable in the future. The ability to pull multiple cables may only be needed in a few locations but the difference in price of the conduit is negligible. better looking at it than looking for it! Don't forget draw strings in the conduit may save effort later. NOTE there is a limitation of 90 metres for CAT 5 / 6 cables runs but unless you are building a palace I doubt this will be an issue
5. Wireless is must if you wish to use portable devices, but I would not rely on it for streaming video / music etc. even though the forthcoming Wireless ac standard allows for Gigabit speeds. Wireless is too prone to interference and is easily blocked by walls and other objects.
6. You may need more than 1 wireless access point especially if you are building a multi story house. Due to the polarisation of the antenna signals do not travel vertically at all well. What about coverage outside? perhaps you want to use your iPad beside the pool? If so you may need a wireless access point that will cover that area.
7. At this stage it is not necessary to pull all the cables, but having the conduit and planned everything makes it a lot easier later. For example, you may have allowed for multiple data-points next to your smart TV for video streaming etc, and then the wife decides she wants to change the layout of the room all your plans wasted. (Guess how I know!).

I hope this clarifies a few things and good luck with your house / palace .

[astral]

Just watch the quality of the cables, both for TV distribution and telephone inside the house.

I had problems with both.

The TV cable would not handle the higher frequency channels well

the phone cable gave me problems with internet.

Perhaps a member can give some relevant numbers for these cables

The LAN cables have already been well described.

Also think about speaker cables if you are a hi fi buff?