Future Proofing - What Cable for Cellular and Satellite Internet?

[theoldwizard1]

Coax is a "dead man walking" except for "over the air" HDTV. RG6 (even unshielded) is adequate. They are slowly rolling out 4K OTA, but I don't think it requires any addition bandwidth (better wire). If you don't plan on doing OTA, coax is not required.

Send us a picture of unshielded coax.

What a stupid stupid statement on my part !

 

[Kaizen]

i highly doubt its only 2 strands. maybe 2 runs of 12, 24, 36, or 48 strands.

and you clearly dont know what dark fiber is. the whole point is to not have any carrier light on it. instead its available for lease to customers so they can connect their multiple locations together.

once again, youre posting misinformation.

Comcast has dark fiber here and the largest auto dealership in town uses it to connect all their locations to the same internet that comes into one dealership. it also puts all locations on the same LAN.

our local PoCo also has dark fiber and Gallo Wines (among other large companies) leases it to connect their many locations in the county together.

His reference to a strand is referring to the whole cable on the pole. So your two "runs" are the same thing. And no one installs fiber in less then several hundred fibers anymore due to the cost of licensing and make ready work unless its a drop. Your reference to a fiber cable as strands is wrong as there is no copper strands. The are called fibers.
You are also incorrect on your interpretation of dark fiber. Most cariers use what they need and reserve some for future use and the rest of the fibers........called dark fiber.......is sometimes available to lease to other large or small carriers.
I also corrected my terminology in my earleiir post above but you are clearly not reading all the threads and would rather just berate everyone for what you think you know. Come on man

 

[Innovate1]

Larry,

Sounds like you are in good shape with the conduits to the attic. I did Starlink (guessing about 2 years ago) until Spectrum was available to me. I had a 3/4" PVC conduit that runs out a side wall between the two roofs (garage roof is about 4' lower than house) with a standard 90 turned down to shed water. The custom connector wouldn't go through the 90 but I was able to shave just a little plastic off the molded end where it was thick and didn't affect anything to get it in. If your pipe and weatherhead to the roof is bigger than that you should be fine. And someone here said they now use a standard network connector so it may be smaller. All the weatherheads I found were much bigger and originally my pipe was for coax for directtv and the sharp turn at the cap seemed like an issue so I went with conduit through the wall. I installed 1" conduit with long sweeps (standard sweeps would probably have been fine but I was steaming some 1.5" for long sweeps for power so I had everything set up to easily do it) for low voltage to the detached garage and used it for optical fiber - 3/4 would have been too small for the preterminated connectors.

I ran conduit various places I thought might be useful later and have used most of them over the years. Saved me a lot of work fishing wires or taking down drywall to run wire.

I ran lots of CAT5 when we built our house 20 years ago. It's still used for lots of things. I still prefer wired over wireless. It's also handy for POE stuff so you don't need other power at the end unit.

The starlink cable has terminated ends and would not fit in a 1" conduit. In the 90s i ran all cat6 cable in my house. Waste of time now i don't use one foot of it.

I don't have starlink any more but did about 2 years ago. As I recall one end had a right angle connector and the other (antenna end) was straight. It fit in 3/4 PVC sch40 conduit fine. I did have little trouble with a standard 90 because of the length it wouldn't fit around the corner. I trimmed a small amount off the back end where it was just plastic to get it to fit. 1" is a safer bet as it will pass bigger end connectors.

Coax is a "dead man walking" except for "over the air" HDTV. RG6 (even unshielded) is adequate. They are slowly rolling out 4K OTA, but I don't think it requires any addition bandwidth (better wire). If you don't plan on doing OTA, coax is not required.

All coax is shielded - it's fundamental to the construction. If it wasnt shielded it would only be 1 conductor! I have coax for OTA TV. But I agree, for most people it's only use is OTA TV. Of course there is ham radio and other uses for coax but most of those use 50 ohm not the 75 ohm TV stuff.

 

[larry4406]

Larry,

Sounds like you are in good shape with the conduits to the attic. I did Starlink (guessing about 2 years ago) until Spectrum was available to me. I had a 3/4" PVC conduit that runs out a side wall between the two roofs (garage roof is about 4' lower than house) with a standard 90 turned down to shed water. The custom connector wouldn't go through the 90 but I was able to shave just a little plastic off the molded end where it was thick and didn't affect anything to get it in. If your pipe and weatherhead to the roof is bigger than that you should be fine. And someone here said they now use a standard network connector so it may be smaller. All the weatherheads I found were much bigger and originally my pipe was for coax for directtv and the sharp turn at the cap seemed like an issue so I went with conduit through the wall. I installed 1" conduit with long sweeps (standard sweeps would probably have been fine but I was steaming some 1.5" for long sweeps for power so I had everything set up to easily do it) for low voltage to the detached garage and used it for optical fiber - 3/4 would have been too small for the preterminated connectors.

I ran conduit various places I thought might be useful later and have used most of them over the years. Saved me a lot of work fishing wires or taking down drywall to run wire.

I ran lots of CAT5 when we built our house 20 years ago. It's still used for lots of things. I still prefer wired over wireless. It's also handy for POE stuff so you don't need other power at the end unit.


I don't have starlink any more but did about 2 years ago. As I recall one end had a right angle connector and the other (antenna end) was straight. It fit in 3/4 PVC sch40 conduit fine. I did have little trouble with a standard 90 because of the length it wouldn't fit around the corner. I trimmed a small amount off the back end where it was just plastic to get it to fit. 1" is a safer bet as it will pass bigger end connectors.

All coax is shielded - it's fundamental to the construction. If it wasnt shielded it would only be 1 conductor! I have coax for OTA TV. But I agree, for most people it's only use is OTA TV. Of course there is ham radio and other uses for coax but most of those use 50 ohm not the 75 ohm TV stuff.

I have 1” conduit thru the roof for the antenna feed with weatherhead. Just one RG6 quad and ground wire thru it.

I ran a Cat5e home run from attic to basement AV panel and called it good. I also have a 2” buried conduit from the basement to a yard 12x12x4” comm box so I’ve got several layers of future proof.

I’ve called it done on this issue.

I just don’t like the Xfinity cost so was looking for options.

Thank you all for your help.

 

[PCustoms]

What a stupid stupid statement !

Yes, stop writing them!

 

[BrandonV]

Your reference to a fiber cable as strands is wrong as there is no copper strands. The are called fibers.

I see a lot of different regional usage of terms.

The FOA often uses the term strand in their material.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I just don’t like the Xfinity cost so was looking for options.

If they are the only "land based" ISP around, dump TV and phone from them and stream.

If you want to keep your home phone number, buy a cheap cell phone and sign up for a MVNO with minimal data. Less than $20/month,

 

[wyliesdiesels]

His reference to a strand is referring to the whole cable on the pole. So your two "runs" are the same thing. And no one installs fiber in less than several hundred fibers anymore due to the cost of licensing and make ready work unless its a drop. Your reference to a fiber cable as strands is wrong as there is no copper strands. The are called fibers.

Huh? i never said anything about copper and yes they are indeed called strands. I work in the industry. Everyone in the industry calls it strands. I happen to moderate a large low voltage group where fiber is discussed routinely and everyone there calls it strands.

maybe you dont call it that but that is certainly an industry term.

You are also incorrect on your interpretation of dark fiber. Most cariers use what they need and reserve some for future use and the rest of the fibers........called dark fiber.......is sometimes available to lease to other large or small carriers.

I have literally done turn-ups for customers on comcast and comcast LITERALLY brought 2 different fiber cables into the building because one was the DIA fiber and the other one was just the dark fiber that the customer connected to their LAN side of their network

Ive literally seen what I have described and its funny you try and correct me and tell me im wrong. sorry but my experience trumps whatever you think is happening here.

I also corrected my terminology in my earlier post above but you are clearly not reading all the threads

got no time to read every little detail. theres an edit button for a reason. instead of posting new comments

and would rather just berate everyone for what you think you know. Come on man

really? so youre questioning what Ive LITERALLY seen in the field? youre ridiculous. sounds like your experience is limited since you havent seen what ive seen and think every region is setup the exact same as yours. c'mon man. your logic is flawed

 

[Innovate1]

If they are the only "land based" ISP around, dump TV and phone from them and stream.

If you want to keep your home phone number, buy a cheap cell phone and sign up for a MVNO with minimal data. Less than $20/month,

If you want a home phone number you can get a VOIP number from a BYOD (bring your own device - I use an Obi box) provider. I pay about $1.50 a month.

 

[theoldwizard1]

If you want a home phone number you can get a VOIP number from a BYOD (bring your own device - I use an Obi box) provider. I pay about $1.50 a month.

Until about a year ago, you could connect and Obi to Google Voice for FREE ! No international calls.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

If you want a home phone number you can get a VOIP number from a BYOD (bring your own device - I use an Obi box) provider. I pay about $1.50 a month.

google voice is free

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Until about a year ago, you could connect and Obi to Google Voice for FREE ! No international calls.

you still can. I have an obi connected to GV

 

[Innovate1]

google voice is free

True. But GV kept changing the hardware required so I decided to stop chasing it. Maybe it has settled down a bit although Obi shut down the configuration portal so I don't know if you can still set up the connection to GV. It's not needed unless you want to set up a wired phone.

 

[BrandonV]

If you want a home phone number you can get a VOIP number from a BYOD (bring your own device - I use an Obi box) provider. I pay about $1.50 a month.

I push everyone to VoIP.ms. Fully configurable VoIP backend and works with almost any SIP hardware you can think of. Obviously more technical to setup but not too bad I think for the layman. Full E911 and all the stuff you'd expect from a "real" landline.

Couple bucks a month at most compared to the telco or ISP.

 

[theoldwizard1]

you still can. I have an obi connected to GV

You are probably "grandfathered in", like me !

You are also "officially" unsupported !

 

[wyliesdiesels]

True. But GV kept changing the hardware required so I decided to stop chasing it. Maybe it has settled down a bit although Obi shut down the configuration portal so I don't know if you can still set up the connection to GV. It's not needed unless you want to set up a wired phone.

you can set it up via local network access to the OBI.

for some reason, my OBI wont respond when i try to connect to it via browser but it still responds to pings and connects to GV so i havent bothered resetting it

I have another OBI that i can log into as well though it doesnt support GV.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

I push everyone to VoIP.ms. Fully configurable VoIP backend and works with almost any SIP hardware you can think of. Obviously more technical to setup but not too bad I think for the layman. Full E911 and all the stuff you'd expect from a "real" landline.

Couple bucks a month at most compared to the telco or ISP.

yup I use Voip.ms for my business phones. I love how i can custom configure everything.

anyone interested in voip.ms let me know and i can send you a referral code.

 

[Innovate1]

I push everyone to VoIP.ms. Fully configurable VoIP backend and works with almost any SIP hardware you can think of. Obviously more technical to setup but not too bad I think for the layman. Full E911 and all the stuff you'd expect from a "real" landline.

Couple bucks a month at most compared to the telco or ISP.

Yep. Exactly what I did. Got a discount link on nerdvittles.com but looks like it may not be available any more. I fooled around a little with Asterisk but don't have a running setup. I have a couple obi devices and configuring them isn't too bad.

 

[Innovate1]

you still can. I have an obi connected to GV

You can still use it if it's already configured but I don't think there is any way to set up a new connection. The Obi portal did some magic - not sure anyone has figured out how to duplicate that with manual setup.

 

[Innovate1]

I have 1” conduit thru the roof for the antenna feed with weatherhead. Just one RG6 quad and ground wire thru it.

When I looked for smaller conduit weather heads and roof jacks for around that size I didn't find much. That was 20 years ago so maybe my memory is a bit foggy. I see they are readily available now although probably not at the big box stores.

 

[larry4406]

When I looked for smaller conduit weather heads and roof jacks for around that size I didn't find much. That was 20 years ago so maybe my memory is a bit foggy. I see they are readily available now although probably not at the big box stores.

Yeah I had to search around for the 1" PVC weatherhead. I think I got it at Lowes of all places. The roof boot for 1" PVC was hard as hell to find! I had to order an Oatey brand on line. Apparently that size is most common for solar installations.

I didn't want a huge penetration thru the roof. Drilled 1/8" hole thru the 1" conduit several locations. Then enlarged the holes on one side so a construction screw would pass. This then got screwed to blocking installed on a truss to support the roof conduit. Did this all while we were installing new shingles.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

You can still use it if it's already configured but I don't think there is any way to set up a new connection. The Obi portal did some magic - not sure anyone has figured out how to duplicate that with manual setup.

I have. as i previously said, you just log into the obi locally via browser and enter the GV credentials in the correct spots in the menus

 

[Metal-Marc]

Coax is a "dead man walking" except for "over the air" HDTV. RG6 (even unshielded) is adequate. They are slowly rolling out 4K OTA, but I don't think it requires any addition bandwidth (better wire). If you don't plan on doing OTA, coax is not required.

I still use coax for OTA TV and OTA FM radio. Both my TV and FM antennae are in the attic.

Not sure if the plain old telephone line (POTs) even works.

Out in the sticks here, and there are still a lot of old folks still hanging to their POTS lines. Heck, even cell service is spotty around here.

also there is no such things as unshielded RG6. unshielded RG6 would leak so much RF into the air that it would cause massive interference.

An unshielded RG6 is called an antenna.

Strip 30" of the outside shield and you have a good FM radio antenna.

I push everyone to VoIP.ms. Fully configurable VoIP backend and works with almost any SIP hardware you can think of. Obviously more technical to setup but not too bad I think for the layman. Full E911 and all the stuff you'd expect from a "real" landline.

Couple bucks a month at most compared to the telco or ISP.

That what I'm using for my home phone. I have a Linux server running Asterisk facing voip.ms.

Totally useless, but fun. I can call the kitchen from the living room or the kitchen from the garage/shop.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

I still use coax for OTA TV and OTA FM radio. Both my TV and FM antennae are in the attic.

Out in the sticks here, and there are still a lot of old folks still hanging to their POTS lines. Heck, even cell service is spotty around here.

An unshielded RG6 is called an antenna.

Strip 30" of the outside shield and you have a good FM radio antenna.

That what I'm using for my home phone. I have a Linux server running Asterisk facing voip.ms.

Totally useless, but fun. I can call the kitchen from the living room or the kitchen from the garage/shop.

Are you using SIP trunks or vPRI?

What kind of phones do you have?

 

[Metal-Marc]

Are you using SIP trunks or vPRI?

What kind of phones do you have?

SIP trunks.

I'm using one softphone on my desktop.
Zoiper app on an old cell phone and on my tablet in the garage both through wifi.
A couple of 500 type phones through adapters.
One voip Aastra phone.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

SIP trunks.

I'm using one softphone on my desktop.
Zoiper app on an old cell phone and on my tablet in the garage both through wifi.
A couple of 500 type phones through adapters.
One voip Aastra phone.

I use the zoiper app and it has some bugs especially with bluetooth.... its very slow when switching from standby to calling, and when bluetooth is on it cuts in and out. you have any issues with the app?

 

[Metal-Marc]

I use the zoiper app and it has some bugs especially with bluetooth.... its very slow when switching from standby to calling, and when bluetooth is on it cuts in and out. you have any issues with the app?

No issue. I'm using it on wifi only.