There will be a few different scenarios presented in this FAQ entry, due to the variety of situations that can be encountered. The quick summation of this whole entry will be, the Data feed from the NID/ONT, be it xDSL or Ethernet, needs to be on a home-ran segment of (ideally) Cat 5 or higher wiring.

For xDSL Varieties (be it ADSL2+ or VDSL2, Single Pair or Pair Bonded):
1) If your service is Line Shared with an AT&T POTS Phone Line, ideally a Whole House xDSL/POTS Splitter/Filter should be installed at the NID. The POTS wiring should then be reconnected to the Filtered POTS port, and the xDSL signal should be connected to the Filtered xDSL port or an unfiltered port.

2) The xDSL link from the NID to the Modem requires 1 pair (2 pairs for Pair Bonded) of Phone Wiring (IW). Ideally, Cat 5 or higher wiring is desired, but that is not always possible, with the typical exceptions being MDU buildings and Business buildings. On older U-Verse installations, if using Cat 5 wire, the "Green" pair used to be the de facto standard for single pair U-Verse installations, but any colored pair is acceptable, and is dependent upon how the installation was done. As of ~2015, the Blue Pair (or Blue+Orange for bonded) has become the standard, in conjunction with AT&T Branded Jack setup. However, ATT no longer uses green as the defacto DSL wire color. Now for any and all installations, Blue - Pair 1 DSL/POTS. Orange - Pair 2 DSL/POTS. In situations where VOIP is used, Green and Brown are used to backfeed VOIP from the RG to the NID which is then terminated to any IW phone lines.

That one pair should connect, with no added legs or breaks, straight from the NID to the Modem. Splices themselves are ok, as long as they are "straight thru" splices -- not adding any taps/legs.

This differs highly from how phone wiring was traditionally done, as voice circuits are typically tapped/legged either jack to jack to jack (a "Daisy Chain") or from a central wiring point, all splice together and break/leg out to each individual jack (a "Star"). Also, unless a relatively newer house, most houses are not wired with Cat 5 or higher phone/data wiring. So this typically results in the Installer placing new Cat 5e wiring between the NID and the Modem Location.

In the case that Cat 5 or higher is not available, then a single, isolated, available existing phone wiring pair needs to be found that can be "home ran" from the Demarc to the Modem location. In the case of apartments or businesses, this typically means finding any and all phone rooms/closets where any splices exist, as well as opening up all phone jacks at the location, to ensure the "home run" wire without any extra legs/taps.

3) Once the home ran data pair(s) reach the modem location, either a Jack can be installed to terminate the wiring, or an RJ-11 plug can be directly connected to the wiring itself to plug directly into the Modem. Typically, the Jack would be more common when the Modem is placed in a living area/room/office area, and a directly connected Plug would be more common if the Modem is installed in a Wiring Closet or Basement type of location, around other wiring elements.

Once you reach the jack, then an UTP Cat 5 RJ-11 terminated patch cord connects from the new xDSL Data Jack to the Modem's "Green" xDSL port.

For xPON varieties:
Background: The Link from the AT&T Network to your ONT is either BPON or GPON, that terminates the Fiber to the Telco side of the ONT. The Customer side of the ONT has no Fiber interfaces -- all copper. There are (typically) 2-4 POTS ports for POTS phone available, and also 1 RJ-45 Ethernet port for Data. U-Verse utilizes that Ethernet port to deliver service from the ONT to the Modem. There is also a set of Power Terminals for the Power Wire to power the ONT, as the ONT needs electrical power to function.

1) The Ethernet link from the ONT to the Modem requires 2 Cat 5 or higher pairs. For any speed tiers over 100 Mbps, the Ethernet link from the ONT to the Modem requires 4 Cat 5 or higher pairs. And now that speeds over 100 Mbps are marketed and sold, it is best to always connect all 4 Pairs, unless there is a need for another pair in a situation with a speed tier of 100 Mbps or less AND another Cat 5 cannot be ran

In theory, the pairs that should be used are the "Green" and "Orange" pairs if only utilizing 2, and if utilizing (typically all) 4 pairs, then the "Blue, Green, Orange, and Brown" pairs. A standard Cat 5 run has 4 pairs inside the jacket. The pin-out on the RJ-45 connector should follow either the 568-A or 568-B Pattern. The two patterns are co-standards -- either is acceptable - simply be consistent on both sides.

2) The Ethernet link needs to be "home ran" from the ONT to the Modem location. Any splices need to be kept to Ethernet twist standards, and there cannot be any taps/legs added to the runs. The Ethernet-using pairs must be home ran from the ONT to the Modem location. If new Cat 5e needs to be placed, the Installer will do that.

3) The Cat 5e wiring is then terminated to an RJ-45 Jack for patch cord connection to the modem, or the Cat 5e wiring is terminated to an RJ-45 Plug for direct connection to the modem. As noted in the xDSL section, typically the Jack is used in a living area/room/office, and a Plug would be more common in a wiring closet/basement area.

Once you reach the jack, a standard UTP Cat 5 RJ-45 Ethernet Patch Cord connects from the new RJ-45 jack to the "Red" ONT port on the modem