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IT Infrastructure & Networking

Structured cabling

Structured cabling for offices and sites: Cat6 and Cat6a data cabling, fibre between buildings, patch panels, labelling and testing by Hoddesdon engineers.

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In short

Structured cabling is the fixed network wiring in your building: Cat6 or Cat6a data cabling from patch panels to desks, access points and cameras, and fibre links between buildings or floors. Dig IT Solutions designs, installs, labels and tests cabling across Hertfordshire, west Essex and London.

When you need this

Signs this is the right conversation

  • Our network cabinet is a bird's nest and nobody knows what goes where.
  • We're adding desks and there aren't enough network points.
  • The second building is connected by a wireless bridge that keeps dropping.
  • We've got intermittent faults that turn out to be old or damaged cable.
  • The landlord's cabling was never tested and half the ports don't work.

Scope

What we deliver

  • 01

    Cabling design

    Outlet counts and positions, cable routes, cabinet locations and containment planned around your floor plan and future growth.

  • 02

    Cat6 and Cat6a installation

    Data cabling for desks, access points, printers, phones and cameras, installed in trunking, floor boxes or ceiling voids to the relevant standards.

  • 03

    Fibre between buildings and floors

    Single-mode or multi-mode fibre where distances or interference rule out copper, terminated and tested.

  • 04

    Cabinets and patch panels

    Wall or floor cabinets with patch panels, cable management and Power over Ethernet switching, laid out so the next engineer can understand it.

  • 05

    Labelling and documentation

    Every outlet and panel port labelled and recorded on a schedule, so faults can be traced in minutes.

  • 06

    Testing and certification

    Each link tested and results provided, so you know the cabling performs to specification before anything is plugged in.

Outcomes

What you get out of it

  • Reliable wired connections for desks, Wi-Fi and cameras.
  • A comms cabinet that is tidy, labelled and documented.
  • Buildings linked by fibre rather than an unreliable bridge.
  • Capacity for growth without another round of drilling.

FAQ

Questions we are asked

Straight answers. If yours is not here, call 020 8482 4020 or 01992 939 365 and ask an engineer.
What is the difference between Cat6 and Cat6a?
Both are copper data cabling. Cat6 supports 1 Gbps over 100 metres and 10 Gbps over shorter runs. Cat6a is thicker and better shielded, supporting 10 Gbps over the full 100 metres, and is better for high-power Wi-Fi access points and dense cabling. For most offices, Cat6 to desks and Cat6a to access points and between cabinets is a sensible balance of cost and headroom.
When do we need fibre instead of copper?
When distance exceeds around 90 metres, when linking separate buildings where lightning and earthing differences make copper risky, or when you need more bandwidth between cabinets than copper gives. Fibre is immune to electrical interference, which matters in workshops and plant yards. It costs more per link but removes a whole category of faults.
Can you tidy an existing network cabinet?
Yes. Cabinet rewires are a common job: re-patching with correctly sized leads, labelling both ends, replacing unmanaged consumer switches with managed ones, adding cable management and producing a port schedule. Relocation Homes described exactly this in their Google review: a rewired network cabinet, a secure switch and a properly configured shared drive. It's usually a day's work.
Do you test and certify the cabling?
Yes. Every link is tested with a cable certifier and the results are supplied to you, showing each run meets the performance of its category. This matters when the cabling is used for a Wi-Fi or camera project later, and when you hand a building back to a landlord. Untested cabling is the source of many intermittent faults we're asked to investigate.
How much does structured cabling cost?
Cabling is quoted fixed-price after a site survey, based on the number of outlets, cable lengths, containment, cabinet work and whether fibre is needed. Costs per point vary widely with building construction and access. We'll show the quote by area so you can phase the work if needed. Contact us at the contact page to arrange a survey.

Insights

Further reading

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Next step

Talk to an engineer, not a sales script

Tell us what is not working, or what you are planning, and we will give you a straight view on what it would take to fix.

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020 8482 4020 01992 939 365 WhatsApp +44 7726 366420Mon–Fri 8:30am – 5:30pm
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