Do the BTO engineers always carry the data extension kit?

As per title of post. Do they or do you have to request from ISP? Getting Sky Fibre in later this week and was just wondering if you need to make a special request for the data extension. I assume its just an Ethernet cable?

The ones I have seen are a 68mm box with an RJ14 socket to which 30 metres of 2 pair Cat5e are attached. The socket is installed at the remote location and the cable fed back to the master where the blue & blue/white are connected to the two IDC terminals.

RJ14 is a 6 pin 4 contact registered jack. IT is the same size as an RJ11 which is only 6P2C.


They may always carry them but to use one there needs to be a request from the ISP.

Edited by MHC (Mon 07-Jan-13 12:57:46)

In reply to a post by Rygar1:

As per title of post. Do they or do you have to request from ISP? Getting Sky Fibre in later this week and was just wondering if you need to make a special request for the data extension. I assume its just an Ethernet cable?

Yes and no. It appears now officially to be called a Home Wiring Solution, not a data extension kit. Possibly since the mod to the interstitial filter that now has A/B connectors to run it from, instead of plug-in. So no specific "kit" needed.

The Home Wiring Solution is free to the ISP and therefore one would hope to you, but the ISP has to order it from Openreach. I assume this is so his allocated/expected job-time can be increased. So you need to ensure Sky order it for you.

I think all the necessary parts are carried as standard, at least by true Openreach engineers. I don't know about contractors such as Kellys and Quinns.

The reason I think this is that if you order the HWS the engineer can install it inside the premises or run it externally, depending on your wishes and his/her assessment of feasibility, and one of them has posted on these forums that the external grade cable is standard van stock. So I assume the internal also is.

It isn't "standard" ethernet cable as there are many qualities of that. I expect it is decent quality Cat5 or CAT6, but that's a guess.

Think it will be a Cat5e i.e. tour twisted pairs, but Cat6 implies a central plastic core, which makes corners and termination a bit harder

I didn't know that about Cat6, thanks .

Edited by RobertoS (Mon 07-Jan-13 13:42:02)

Have just been to look at my neighbours - installed by a real OR tech. It is 2 pair Cat5e and is fitted with a box with an RJ14 socket with te printed computer icon above. the box was prefitted.

Yes, that is what the kit was, when the interstitial filter did not have A/B connectors. Note not only that it now does, but it isn't called a data extension kit any more by Openreach. How recently was theirs fitted?
_{Edit - typo.}

Edited by RobertoS (Mon 07-Jan-13 18:50:14)

About 2 to 3 months back ...

Maybe they've handed them out to the contractors as they aren't safe to make up wired-in ones .

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I didn't know that about Cat6, thanks .

We have Cat6 in our data centres, and its a right pain to route into the racks.

I was told Cat5 = upto 100megabit, Cat5e is gigabit for general use, and Cat6 is gigabit for longer runs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat6

There's a video here http://www.cableorganizer.com/articles/cat5-cat5e-ca...

There is no plug on the end, just a flying lead that is cut to length and punched into the A & B terminals on the filter.

Lucky [censored], obviously has some of the old school extension kit sockets on board.

Now having to use a 'normal' NTE back box, and then fit and RJ45 front plate on it, just terminating the single pair on 4 and 5. The end that terminates by the NTE is supposed to have an RJ11 fitted by the engineer, this then going in to the frontplate filter on the 'usual' hole. The reasoning being that the punters can then, if required, choose to plug the modem in direct, bypass the kit, if they wish, or to aid faulting. Remember, these kits, once installed, belong to the punter.

However, fitting the RJ11's is a fiddly PITA, terminating on the internal IDC's is much neater also ..... so.

As for the contractors fitting them ....... but that would take time, and a little skill, two things they seem short of, or loathe to dispense.

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

Lucky [censored], obviously has some of the old school extension kit sockets on board.

Now having to use a 'normal' NTE back box, and then fit and RJ45 front plate on it, just terminating the single pair on 4 and 5. The end that terminates by the NTE is supposed to have an RJ11 fitted by the engineer, this then going in to the frontplate filter on the 'usual' hole. The reasoning being that the punters can then, if required, choose to plug the modem in direct, bypass the kit, if they wish, or to aid faulting. Remember, these kits, once installed, belong to the punter.

However, fitting the RJ11's is a fiddly PITA, terminating on the internal IDC's is much neater also ..... so.

As for the contractors fitting them ....... but that would take time, and a little skill, two things they seem short of, or loathe to dispense.

Any idea why it has changed to an RJ45? Most modem leads are RJ11 or RJ14, which will fit but are not always secure and you can get an intermittent connection.

Old set up was master socket in kitchen at back of building, which fed an extension box in lobby around 6 mtrs away, then from lobby box extension to router in living room was using standard telephone extension cable running approx 20 mtrs to the router.

BTO engineer replaced lobby extension box with little junction box then ran cat5 cable from lobby to living room where he placed the new master socket & BT Modem.

Not exactly the way I expected he would do it but all in all very pleased with the install. Only problem now is getting 80/20 sync (107 attainable) but only seeing throughput around 40 to 50Mb (wired connection measured against various speed tests, test files & premium newsgroups).

Wondering if the 10 day training only affects sync or throughput as well? Poor throughput seems to be a known but random issue on some Sky connections it would seem.

Sounds like you got a proper job done, which quite a few people haven't recently.

I believe Sky use a similar system to what they do on ADSL2+, where they start you at 4Mbps then ramp you up in stages over a few days. I think I have seen it said they start you on a 40Mbps throughput cap and ramp that up in the same way.

Any idea why it has changed to an RJ45?

They had shed loads of 'em in Magna Park, at a guess.

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

Any idea why it has changed to an RJ45?

They had shed loads of 'em in Magna Park, at a guess.

Don't they ever think these things through ...

How many complaints or CS calls will there be when a customer plugs their PC network cable or the router WAN network cable into the RJ45? When there was a RJ11/14 it was different. Also, there is a "standard" whereby RJ45s are for network cables (Ethernet or others) and RJ11/14 for telephony/analog/raw data/voice.