What am I missing here?

So this house I'm buying was built in 2017. On my first quick pass through the house I noticed all the bedrooms had an ethernet jack, as well as one directly below the tv mount in the living room. I was so excited that finally someone had enough sense to wire a home.

Upon further inspection, because they just didn't look right, they're all phone jacks. Why would anyone wire an entire house, and the tv, for telephone and not ethernet?!

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

Northwest · M

The phone wiring makes sense in a way, because the majority of households, keep home phone numbers (even if it's supplied by the Internet provider). So, an RJ-11 port still makes some sense. The missing RJ-45, in a 2017 house, does not make sense, especially that they still put in RG-59 or RG-6 cabling.

Even if you assume WiFi, ethernet cabling, as a backbone, still makes sense and is an insignificant investment, relative to the cost of a new house.

SooperSarah

@Northwest They all run to a structured media center built into the wall in the basement. They, along with all the coax lines, are just hanging out in that box. I got a peek when the inspector opened it up. They looked too big to be regular phone lines, but I could be wrong.

Northwest · M

@SooperSarah Yes, most modern homes, are equipped with a structured cabling box. This is the "meet me" point for all services. This would be the point that the internet service provider, the phone company, the cable company, etc, connect to, and wiring is distributed from that point. This is the "home" location, in home-run style wiring.

Cabling for phones, from the outside, looks about the same as for Ethernet. To be certain, you should look at the wire jacket. If it says CAT 5, CAT 5.1, CAT 6, etc. it's ethernet cabling. If it's Cat 3 or below, it's probably used for phone wiring, although, technically, it can be used for ethernet. Ethernet connections, only two pairs.

The wall jack, is a different story. An RJ-11 can only be used to plug phones in (it has 4 or 6 connection points, and is very small). An RJ-45, is bigger and provides 8 connection points (although for Ethernet only 4 are used, but for some applications, the other 4 wires are used for power, you may know it as PoE or power over ethernet, so you will need a power supply for your wireless access points, or other networking/media equipment).

SooperSarah

@Northwest The wall jacks looking small is what caught my attention. I'm kind of disappointed in the media box. I can't put my rack mount switch in it, or anything that generates much heat. So, now I need to find a way to get all the lines out of that box to a place where I can use them.

Northwest · M

@SooperSarah It's easy to tell. Try plugging an ethernet cable into it. It will not fit into an RJ-11 jack.

The residential boxes, are deigned to be only 3" deep, and about 11" wide, to fit in between standard separated wall studs, that use 2x4 wood. If you really like the house, and you have the room, you could make the existing panel, a base of sorts, and screw over it a rack, or place a rack under it, something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/NavePoint-Server-Networking-Threaded-Management/dp/B01J8OWMNG/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=networking+rack&qid=1569694168&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzMVNWQ0JMUjBaTzRRJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDU2MzE5MUw0MDlIN0E0UjdIRyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMDQ2OTIxMjQwUFpPQ0lTQzFMOSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Then you can simply use a short connector cable from your rack, to the distribution panel in the structured cabling panel. If this thing is placed in a spot that backs into the garage, you can put a rack against the wall, in the garage, and open up the drywall, so you can patch up the cables, through the back, from the existing structured cabling panel, into the rack. If the garage dust is a problem, you can get a rack with a door.

SooperSarah

@Northwest I did grab a spare rj45 connector to try, which is how I know they're phone jacks. It's in the bedroom in the basement, so opening up the wall isn't ideal.

I might make a new cover out of wood and build a patch panel into it. I could also order the door with heat vents and run the lines out through the vent.