Cat 5 for phone and data

[drewboy]

Hopefully someone can help.. I recently renotovated a loft on my property for office space. I have cat 5 coming into the loft from the basement of my house.. My question is can I hook up 2 phone lines ( seperate numbers) and my cable modem ( via a router) with 1 cat 5 line.. I would like to be able to plug in my phones and pc into a wall jack?

Thanks

[DVNT1]

yes you can. There are two un-used pairs in CAT5 UTP. Using the common EIA 568-B standard it would be the blue and brown pairs.


EIA 568-B reference: http://cablingdb.com/Standards/568B/TIA-EIA_568B1.asp

drewboy,
Please consider all our forums before posting your thread.
I have moved this from Forum Suggestions to Networking and Internet.

[drewboy]

So do I splice of the correct pairs and use my crimp tool to connect...? Just called a local networking company to possibly help me and then said it could not be done?

[DVNT1]

Yes.

Google on unused pairs cat5 and you will find many sources that verify there are two unused pairs with the standard I referenced.

You will also find references that say it is both "okay" and also a "bad idea" to use the spare pairs for an analog phone connection.

If this was the planning stages, or even a commercial application, I would suggest you didn't do it.

In the situation where it is at home (ie: not critical) and the wire is already there, then try. It will work and performance degradation will not even be noticed.

[DVNT1]

btw I came across a product from 3COM (well known network equip. mfg) that does what you are asking (and more) http://www.3com.com/products/en_US/d...htype=purchase

Main point to note is that they take a single CAT5 line and use 2 pair for network and 2 pair for phone (they also add a mini-switch and give you an additional 3 net ports but that's beside the point).

[whitebeard21]

The answer is yes you can do it, the result will be unsatisfactory. You will have next (nearend crosstalk) problems. Speed will be slow due to dropped packets. Use it for voice or data not both.

[bailey]

don't the phone co. do the same thing when wireing the demarc with 25pr cable ? phone and data both on same cablr ?

[DVNT1]

Originally posted by bailey
don't the phone co. do the same thing when wireing the demarc with 25pr cable ? phone and data both on same cablr ?

yes, that can be true. But consider the common T1 in that 25 pair, it uses T1 cabling specifications on the wiring and not 100BaseT specs.

[TOAD6147]

As long as the pairs are twisted there should be minimal to no cross-talk, don't you think Whitebeard21? As DVNT1 has suggested, since it's not in a critical environment give it a try and hope for the best.