Pre Terminated Cabling

The traditional way to install cables, copper or optical fibre, is to install the cable in the building, put connectors on the end and then test it. Nothing wrong with that of course and this method is still the dominant technique used today.

There has however been a steady rise in the use of pre-terminated cabling systems whereby an installer turns up at site with a ready terminated cable assembly, lays it into position, plugs the connectors into the patch panels and wall outlets, and leaves again.

There are two main advantages to this; the first is reduced time on site and the second is improved quality of the terminations.

Pre-terminated cabling is most popular when time on site is at an absolute premium. This may be in a new build, such as a data centre, where time scales are critical and many different trades are vying for the right to work on any particular bit of floor space at any time.

Other time critical areas are live sites that need additional cabling but where the costs and implications of downtime are horrendous, such as a trading floor or call centre. Such a facility may want to have all its cabling upgraded or extended in one overnight operation.