The NBN is no longer something you can put off until tomorrow. The truth is it is here and now. Scott Edwards looks at the practical aspects of connecting premises to the fibre network.

Today, modern homes are built to meet the needs of a diverse range of customers. These can be students sharing inner-city apartments, professionals, downsizers, or one of several other types of occupiers.

High density living attracts a diverse range of occupiers that may stay a short time or plan to retire in a home for life. So complex is the mix of people and needs that developers really need to cater for a dynamic design to attract investment. As cablers and installers we too need to provide installations that meet the needs of the modern resident.

The National Broadband Network (NBN) and Fibre to the Home (FTTH) makes this possible, with the ability to have many competitive options for service delivery, like internet and television, and the scope to expand and evolve over time. Some things we can do to assist with this are:

• Understand the long term value of the communications infrastructure as a utility and make it a real part of the home design;
• Provide space for networking equipment, that can be upgraded over time; and,
• Install quality data cabling to locations in the home including where TVs will be.

The design of new homes and apartments provides some challenges though. This means not a lot of space. We need to come up with ways to include all the space needed for the electronic hardware, the wiring, and all the connecting cables. Furthermore, as tradespeople we respect the value of workmanship and the importance of safety.

Some things to consider in planning are:

• How much space the equipment and cables will need (get guidelines about the NBN equipment and the clearances required).
• How electronic equipment can cool (venting if enclosed).
• Compatibility for wireless devices.
• How to make the installation safe (consider all the patch cords, routers, etc).
• How to protect the installation from accidental damage.
• If technology may change how some larger or smaller equipment could be  tted over time.
• Making the installation look neat, matching the investment and look of the new home.
• Could other people buy the home later and have different needs to yours.
• Easy access for persons to make repairs or changes safely.
• To make a design decision you would need to compare your options.

The first option is the probably the most cost effective solution to consider.

It requires the provision of space by developer or home owner, to provide for equipment. The equipment includes the NTD from the network provider. It includes backup power equipment along with provision for any routing gateway/s from service providers. This could be a wall surface mount the equipment. Power needs to be provided for the equipment. Connections for in home cabling to rooms and equipment locations can be provided by cables terminated on faceplates that have the ability to house the number of outlets required. The faceplates ideally should have integral labels so that the user knows where the sockets correspond to the cabled wall outlets in the home. The example image does not show a customer’s router which could introduce more patch cables.

The second option allows for a dedicated enclosure for the cabling within the home to be housed neatly in a cabling box. Rather than faceplates, the housing uses patch panels to provide a higher density concentration of cabling connections as well as neatly housing the excess cordage from the connecting leads to any equipment.

The NTD, backup power equipment and routing gateway/s still need space to locate externally on a wall surface. In this case the home distributor would likely be mounted adjacent to the network provider equipment. Like the first option, the equipment is exposed to accidental damage.

The third option is a solution to house the majority of the equipment and cabling within an enclosure, there is facility for a large number of outlets, power for the equipment is also enclosed. Here there is an ability to recess the distributor in a wall cavity, the door could be closed to provide a greater level of safety, storage for excess cordage, and protection from accidental damage.

This option could be described as “ideal”, here the equipment and cabling can be co-located, the enclosure provides vents for active equipment, and is made of a non-metallic material to allow for the fitting or wireless networking equipment. The internal space will accommodate equipment from a variety of network providers and service providers as well as home networking needs.

Though the overall size may seem large, most of the enclosure can be recessed in the wall cavity. It allows for many connectivity options and allows customers to specify one enclosure for nearly all applications.

In summary, really there is choice in providing a solution for the NBN and the associated power and communications wiring. It is good though, to consider the investment for the future and to treat the communications as the new utility…that needs its own space and careful planning to make the most of the technology on offer in the new competitive communications world.

The decision is yours.

Scott Edwards is Clipsal by Schneider Electric’s Business Development Manager- NBN. He has over 25 years’ experience in telecommunications and data communications. He has held previous positions as a technician, project manager, technical specialist, for networking and passive connectivity for enterprise and outside plant systems.