Why run cable instead of relying on Wi-Fi?
Because a cable is consistent and Wi-Fi is not. Anything that matters, a desk that has to work all day, a TV that streams, a camera recorder, an access point, is better on a wired connection with Wi-Fi layered over the top of it.
Most of the "our Wi-Fi is terrible" problems we get called to are not really Wi-Fi problems. They are one router in the wrong place, at one end of a building, trying to cover the whole of it through several walls. The fix is usually cabled access points in sensible positions rather than a more expensive router. That is a cabling job, and it is the part that lasts: the electronics get replaced every few years, the cable does not.
What does structured cabling involve?
Running data cable from a central point, usually a comms cabinet or a patch panel, out to each outlet, then terminating and testing every one so you know it performs rather than merely lights up.
Done properly it means outlets where the desks and equipment actually are, cable routed and supported so it is not kinked or stretched, terminations made consistently, and a tidy cabinet you can still work in a year later. On a house that might be a handful of points from a cupboard; on a commercial unit it is a patch panel, a cabinet and a documented set of outlets.
Do you configure the network as well?
We install and terminate the cabling, fit the cabinet and mount the access points. Configuring routers, firewalls and servers is IT work rather than electrical work, and we will say so rather than pretending otherwise.
In practice that boundary is rarely a problem: we work alongside whoever handles your IT, and the cabling is the part that has to be right first. We do not ask for your passwords, and installing cabling does not give us access to what travels over the network. Our privacy notice says so explicitly.
What we cover
- Structured data cabling
- Network and telephone outlets
- Comms cabinets and patch panels
- Cabled Wi-Fi access points
- Terminated and tested
Common questions
Can you cable a house during a renovation?
That is the ideal time, because the walls are open. Running data cable at first fix costs very little on top of the electrical work and is far cheaper than retrofitting later.
Can you improve Wi-Fi without rewiring the whole building?
Often yes. A cabled access point in the right place usually solves more than replacing the router does, and it may only need one or two cable runs.
Do you supply the network equipment?
We can, or we will fit equipment you have chosen. As with any customer-supplied equipment we guarantee our work rather than the hardware itself.