cat 5 phone wiring

Cabling-Design.com FREE cabling and networking Helpdesk
icon
 Question by Shane Patrick posted 22 Nov 2002
 cat 5 phone wiring
The builder that is building our new house uses cat 5 cable to wire for the telephone jacks throughout the house. I've been told that I can use the wires that won't be used for telephone connectivity to wire for ethernet (rj-45 connection) at each phone jack as well. How would I go about doing that? And would doing so effect an incoming DSL connection?
icon
 Answer by Dmitri Abaimov posted 04 Dec 2002
Dear Shane,

Sharing pairs between Ethernet and phone lines is possible, although not recommended. Ethernet uses pairs 2 and 3 (orange and green). You could install an adapter at each end of the cable, taking pair #1 to one jack for phone and pairs #2 and #3 to another for Ethernet.
There should be no significant impact on DSL signal, considering it's only up to 300 feet long run.

However, if the walls are not closed yet, seriously consider adding a separate cable for Ethernet. At construction stage the expense of putting additional cables really pays off with added flexibility and decreased amount of problems with wrong pin layouts, adapters and so on. Also consider that few years down the line there may be applications introduced (like Gigabit Ethernet) to the home market that would require all four pairs to operate. When that happens, you'll have to run additional cable.

Sincerely,
Dmitri Abaimov, RCDD

Click here to see the expert's profile
Back to the current page of questions | Back to all the questions
Back to Cabling-Design.com HELPDESK | Ask your question
Residential Cabling Guide

Home Cabling Guide

Finally, an instantly downloadable book that saves you thousands in home improvement dollars! Enjoy living in 21st century technology-advanced home while increasing its selling value and competitive advantage on the real estate market. Whether your cabling is for home office or high-tech leisure, you can wire your home yourself or learn "wirish" to speak with your cabling contractors in their language!

Learn more ...