Understanding my broadband connection

irishbuzz

Hi All,

Looking for some help understanding my existing Eir broadband connection (non-FTTH). On the gable of my house, I have this box which takes in Eirs line from their Telephone pole and out of it a Cat6 cable (purple) runs to my comms cabinet.



Q1. What is the name for this box? The Demarcation point?

In my Comms cabinet, the Cat6 cable is patched (rather awkwardly) into the following box. From which a small DSL cable runs to my F2000 modem/router




Q2. Again what is the name of this type of box?

Q3. Does this mean my connection is aDSL or vDSL?

Q4. Does the connection have to be made this way? I have no use for the phone line. Is it not possible to terminate the incoming Cat6 with an RJ45 jack and connect this directly to the WAN port on the F2000?

Thanks in advance

shigllgetcha

Q1 That is just a junction box its kind of an etu in this case but doesnt really serve any purpose other than joining eirs line to that purple Cat cable. The cat cable is patched awkwardly because thats no its intended purpose.

Q2 Thats a phone socket with a build in filter

Q3 could be either.

Q4 God no. The Cat6 is just being used as a phone line, not an ethernet cable. Even if it was the f2000 has to change your signal from analog (over the phone line) to digital.

tsue921i8wljb3

irishbuzz wrote: »

Hi All,

Looking for some help understanding my existing Eir broadband connection (non-FTTH). On the gable of my house, I have this box which takes in Eirs line from their Telephone pole and out of it a Cat6 cable (purple) runs to my comms cabinet.



Q1. What is the name for this box? The Demarcation point?

In my Comms cabinet, the Cat6 cable is patched (rather awkwardly) into the following box. From which a small DSL cable runs to my F2000 modem/router



Q2. Again what is the name of this type of box?

Q3. Does this mean my connection is aDSL or vDSL?

Q4. Does the connection have to be made this way? I have no use for the phone line. Is it not possible to terminate the incoming Cat6 with an RJ45 jack and connect this directly to the WAN port on the F2000?

Thanks in advance

It's not what you would call a traditional installation.

Q1. It doesn't really have a name because the demarcation point is meant to be the faceplate in your third picture. You could probably call it a weatherproof junction box.

Q2. (V) DSL faceplate

Q3. Could be either. Log into the F2000 and it should tell you.

Q4. It does have to be made that way. Whats happening is the black phone cable pair is joined to a pair in the purple cable in the junction box. This pair is then joined to the small DSL cable in the second picture. You can't directly connect it to WAN as it needs to go into the DSL socket on the modem.

tsue921i8wljb3

shigllgetcha wrote: »

Q1 That is just a junction box its kind of an etu in this case but doesnt really serve any purpose other than joining eirs line to that purple Cat cable. The cat cable is patched awkwardly because thats no its intended purpose.

Q2 Thats a phone socket with a build in filter

Q3 could be either.

Q4 God no. The Cat6 is just being used as a phone line, not an ethernet cable. Even if it was the f2000 has to change your signal from analog (over the phone line) to digital.

You're faster at typing than me!

irishbuzz

I appreciate the replies.

When you say that this is not a traditional installation does that mean it's less than ideal? The house was only rewired and then reconnected as part of a renovation last year so I would have expected that best practices would have been followed.

When FTTH eventually becomes available to me would I be able to use the existing Cat6 as entry or would they need to run the fibre cable to my comms cabinet?

ED E

That MDP is the demark point, technicians are required to get the line working that far and no further.

You could remove it but a tech that turned up could walk away from any faults blaming you (rightly or wrongly).

tsue921i8wljb3

irishbuzz wrote: »

I appreciate the replies.

When you say that this is not a traditional installation does that mean it's less than ideal? The house was only rewired and then reconnected as part of a renovation last year so I would have expected that best practices would have been followed.

When FTTH eventually becomes available to me would I be able to use the existing Cat6 as entry or would they need to run the fibre cable to my comms cabinet?

They would have to get the fibre cable into your home which would likely involve drilling a small hole.

There is nothing particularly wrong with the job. Newer builds would have a specific External Termination Unit but retrofitting one to a home would be a lot of hassle.

irishbuzz

I checked my router web admin and was able to confirm my connection is actually vDSL.

The DSL faceplate will be kept in place. Although I might look at detaching the Cat6 and running it through the alternative hole at the bottom of the box and re-patch. It will allow me to mount the faceplate and should give a more secure attachment less prone to wear and tear.

Interesting to hear that the entire internet connection is achieved over a single twisted pair but good to know.

And a bit of drilling in the future should not be a major issue as the comms cabinet is close to an external wall anyway.

Thanks for the lessons.

The Real B-man

Your CAT cable doesn't look like it's outdoor rated either and can be prone to water ingress and UV damage over time, usually it's waterproof coated pvc and black in colour.

9726_9726

The Real B-man wrote: »

Your CAT cable doesn't look like it's outdoor rated either and can be prone to water ingress and UV damage over time, usually it's waterproof coated pvc and black in colour.

Agreed. That purple cable will be PVC. 12-18 months before it leaks on average. It's indoor cable. To buy time, make sure there are no rub-points/that it can't move or shake in the wind.

Eventually, you'll find water dripping from the end.

irishbuzz

Thanks for letting me know

Do I need to just tape the rub points or is there anything I can do with it now to weatherproof it? Obviously, I need this cable to last years.

[EDIT] - You're both 100% right by the way. It's the same standard UTP cable that the electrician ran throughout the house.