Communications

What a structured cabling project covers

Structured cabling is the physical layer everything else in the building runs on: telephony, wireless access points, IP cameras, access control, nurse call, building management and the network itself. A project covers the pathway and space design, backbone and horizontal cabling in copper and fiber, telecommunications rooms and racks, patch panels and termination, labelling to a documented scheme, and certified testing of every link before handover. JSC Systems designs and installs new infrastructure and takes on remediation of cabling that was never documented or certified.

Standards, licensing and compliance

Commercial cabling is designed and installed to the ANSI/TIA-568 family of standards, with pathways and spaces to TIA-569 and administration and labelling to TIA-606. BICSI publishes the design and installation methods most owners and consultants specify by name. Getting this layer right is what makes the rest of the low-voltage estate supportable ten years later.

• Design and installation to BICSI standards, using fiber and copper distribution systems
• Certified technicians, with test results documented per link rather than sampled
• Licensed low-voltage contractor in Florida (EF20000375), Georgia (LVU405422), South Carolina (FAC13409 and BAC13521), North Carolina (29986-SP-FA/LV) and Alabama (A-0479)
• Experience across school campuses, office buildings, hospitals and government facilities, each with its own pathway, containment and security requirements

Common questions

What is the difference between Cat 6 and Cat 6A, and which do I need?

Both are twisted-pair copper. Cat 6A is specified for 10 Gigabit Ethernet over the full 100 metre channel and has more stringent alien crosstalk requirements, which is why it is the usual choice for wireless access point drops and for any run you do not want to revisit in five years. Cat 6 remains adequate for many desk drops. The right answer depends on what the drop will carry and how long you expect the cabling to last, not on a blanket rule.

Do I need fiber or copper for the backbone?

Between buildings and between floors, fiber. Copper backbone runs are limited by distance and by the electrical separation you need between structures. Within a floor, copper to the outlet is normal. Most of our campus projects are a fiber backbone with copper horizontal cabling, and the design decision is driven by distances, bandwidth growth and the pathway that already exists. See fiber optic cabling solutions.

Will you certify and document the installation?

Yes. Every link is tested with a certification tester and the results are handed over with the labelling scheme and as-built records. That documentation is what lets the next contractor, or your own IT team, trace a fault in minutes instead of a day.

Can you work on an occupied campus or hospital?

Yes. Occupied healthcare and education sites are most of what we do. That means infection-control and containment measures where required, working around class timetables or clinical schedules, and cutting over in stages so no department loses connectivity without notice.

What happens to cabling we already have?

We survey it before proposing anything. Some existing plant is perfectly serviceable and only needs re-terminating, testing and labelling; some is abandoned cable that should be removed under the electrical code. Knowing which is which usually reduces the cost of the project. See communication infrastructure maintenance.