RgrRamjet
join:2009-02-17
San Diego, CA
|  Thinking of siging up, but have questions
I've been thinking of switching to Uverse but have a couple of nagging issues. My house is 40 years old and has crappy twisted wire (not even CAT3) for POTS and a pretty lousy RG-59 install for cable. I have 2,000 ft of CAT 6 cable I want to use to re-wire my house but didn't know if i should do it before the UVerse install or in coincidence with the install. What would you do? I have attic access to all rooms and I'm an IT Pro with advanced cabling experience. I'm thinking of running redundant cables from the NID to a media cabinet where I'll breakout phone and data. Then I'll run cat6 to all the rooms from the media cabinet so I can patch in any direction I want to.
BTW I was just on the phone with UVerse (they cold called me) and the Rep. said that the installer will run a fiber to my house. I tried to explain that they have fiber out in the phone box on the street but that I was pretty sure that the installer would then use the copper pair to get the signal from the street to my house. He tried to push that it was all fiber right up to the RG. Can anyone confirm this? This is an old neighborhood but everything is in the ground. I really don't think Uverse is going to trench a fiber line to my house even though I'm only 200 yards away from the box on the street. |
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ILpt4U
Premium
join:2006-11-12
Lisle, IL
 ·AT&T Yahoo
 ·AT&T U-Verse
 ·magicjack.com
2 edits | In an established neighborhood, the service is Fiber To The Node/Neighborhood.
You are correct, it will be copper from the neighborhood VRAD/Fiber node to your house.
Even in new housing areas that do have Fiber To The Premise (FTTP), it is fiber to the side of the house, to the Optical Network Terminal (ONT/Fiber NID if you will). From that point it runs on Ethernet to connect to the RG. The service is never Fiber all the way to the RG
Sales agents are only as good as the information they have & the training they have. Many have never seen U-Verse in the field -- so they can be confused.
If you have the ability, means, and will, go ahead and run your Cat 6 drops to every room you would want a TV and/or Computer. I'd recommend running at least 2 Cat 6 drops, if not 3, to each location, and Home Run them all back to your media cabinet. Make sure there is available grounded power near your media cabinet, as that becomes the ideal location to place the RG.
It would also probably be a good idea to get a nice Patch Panel @ your Media Cabinet. Will keep the cables much clearer & more organized
You do not really need redundant runs from the NID to the media cabinet, but it does not hurt.
A Standard Free Installation for U-Verse is up to 3 TVs running new cable, or reusing existing cable to all tvs. So depending on how many TVs you want installed, it might be beneficial to pre-run your Cat 6. Also, on install day, it is tech discretion whether to run Cat 5e or Tri Shield RG 6 Coax. If you want to go all-Ethernet for sure, I'd say run your own wire. |
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netboy34
join:2001-08-29
Kennesaw, GA | I pre-ran mine, and it was a good thing I did since the installer had no clue about ethernet installs and would have only done coax. I say pre-run and be safe |
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jeffscott
join:2008-08-19
Atlanta, GA
| I signed up but decided to delay the install pending further research...I too am in an older neighborhood...condo conversion in Atlanta...currently an AT&T dsl customer w/ Comcast cable (which is adequate) but they have been dragging their feet regarding additional HD channels...seems all AROUND Atlanta proper but not within the city itself... I have a single coax output for cable...am I likely to experience problems being in an older building?...that's the impression I'm getting...just seems like there would be limited options as far as where the U-Verse gateway would be installed....thoughts from anyone?... |
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gdm
Premium,MVM
join:2001-06-15
Mchenry, IL
clubs: | Honestly their is no way to tell until your install. The wiring to the RG would be via Cat3/5 more then likely.
You can run Coax to the boxes or Cat5. |
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jeffscott
join:2008-08-19
Atlanta, GA
| thanks gdm!...one other clarification, if I may...
the single coax line I currently have is in use by Comcast...would I need to have that service cancelled in the event it needs to be utilized for U-Verse?...I suspect additional wiring will be required for my install..with a single input for cable and only traditional phone jacks around for connections... |
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gdm
Premium,MVM
join:2001-06-15
Mchenry, IL
clubs: | If you wanted to run them side by side you could run a cat5 line from the RG to the u-verse box that will connect to your TV. |
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jeffscott
join:2008-08-19
Atlanta, GA | Appreciate your input...I think I will hold off for the time being..I'm afraid I would end up posting one the latest install horror stories! |
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gdm
Premium,MVM
join:2001-06-15
Mchenry, IL
clubs:
·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T CallVantage
·Comcast Digital Vo..
 ·Comcast
| NP. Remember the installs have nothing to do with when you place the order. Bad installs are factor of many things. Something alot of folks don't realize is IPTV is hard to rollout because no one house/apartment/condo/etc is the same. Cable is easy it goes over coax and sometimes it works fine over bad coax. IPTV doesn't do so well.
Just remember that you do have support here with Matt's Tier2 if you did run into a problem. |
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RgrRamjet
join:2009-02-17
San Diego, CA
| reply to RgrRamjet
Thanks all for the great input. I'm going to go ahead with my own re-wire since the more I look at what is pre-existing in this house the more I hate it. I just recently found a pair of wire connected to a transformer in the heater closet that was used to power the old dial phone ringers. That's how old this place is. I bought a Leviton Structured Media center (w/ voice, data, video, patch panels) and I'm going to put it into a closet with near by power. I'll put a shelf near by for the RG and supply external jacks ready to be used by the installer. I'll have at least two 4 pair Cat 6 cables going to each room so one could be used for the RG and the other could still be used for data / phone. In fact some rooms will have three runs for video, data, and phone.
BTW There won't be anything powered besides the RG except maybe an ethernet switch. Will heat build up in the closet be a factor? It will be in the center of the house and the ambient temp will probably never get over 75 to 80 degree F. Do you think I'll need to provide a fan or other air conditioning. The reason i ask is that i have no idea how much heat an RG generates and don't want to cause an over heat condition. I'm trying to hide my electronics off the beaten path so it doesn't have to sit out like a piece of furniture if possible.
Thanks again for all your help. |
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ILpt4U
Premium
join:2006-11-12
Lisle, IL
·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T U-Verse
·magicjack.com
| If it is an "upstairs" closet, might not hurt to put a ceiling fan in the closet. How big is the closet? Might not need anything additional either.
The RG does give off some heat, but I never thought it to be "a lot".
When you build your shelf, it will need to be deep enough for both the RG as well as the Belkin UPS (if you are planning on getting U-Voice VoIP).
If, however, you get all that pre-ran, your U-Verse Installer will love you...
Nothing makes a tech's day quite like structured wiring & patch panels  |
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Tel
join:2001-10-12
Mauldin, SC | reply to RgrRamjet
Being used to the sometimes extreme heat generated by the various DSL modems I've had, I was shocked at the lack of heat coming off the RG. Mine is standing on it's end and it always feels cool to the touch on both sides. |
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RgrRamjet
join:2009-02-17
San Diego, CA
| Thanks guys. The house is single level and the closet is about 3X6ft with sliding doors. So there is actually loose ventilation since the closet doors so not seal tight. I should be fine as far a heat goes. Thanks for the update about the UPS. I wasn't expecting that and yes I probably will be switching to VOIP as a part of the sign-up package. Well, time to climb into the attic!  |
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ibatt
join:2009-11-05
Imperial Beach, CA
| In my area of San Diego County the RG that is installed (2wire 3800 HGV-B) has very poor wireless capability. I just had uverse tv, internet, phone service installed changing from Cox. I used a linksys wireless router in one corner of the house and had wireless capability throughout. The 2wire will only generate a weak link to the center upstairs with no capacity in bedrooms upstairs. It is good you are an IT person because you will get little or no assistance from the installer/tech - they try but just don't know what is going on. I would switch back to Cox in a minute but my wife is the TV nut and loves uverse. Good luck and let us know how you come out. |
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gdm
Premium,MVM
join:2001-06-15
Mchenry, IL
clubs: | I'd say your RG isn't working. My RG has better wireless then any home b/g router I've tested. |
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btur389w
join:2009-09-22
| reply to ibatt
Have you hit the button on the bottom of the RG? That button in some of the older RG's turns your wireless signal down and unencrypts it so you can log into the RG and do what you need to without someone logging into your network unexpectedly. try that, and if that doesn't work, email us at uversecare@att.com.
--
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email us at uversecare@att.com.
Our goal is to provide you Excellent Customer Service. Hours: Tu-Sa 12-9 CST |
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Tel
join:2001-10-12
Mauldin, SC
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to gdm
said by gdm  :I'd say your RG isn't working. My RG has better wireless then any home b/g router I've tested. I'd agree with that. My home is a tri-level and I get 100% anywhere in the house. For grins, I took my laptop next door to my neighbors and I even got an excellent signal there. |
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jeffscott
join:2008-08-19
Atlanta, GA
| reply to gdm
Decided to give it a shot after all with U-Verse..install sked for Nov 13...figured that would be a lucky day!...U-450 tv pkg, Max Plus internet and U-Voice..
Had enough of Comcast's mediocre options as far as the HD content....
We'll see how it goes! |
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ILpt4U
Premium
join:2006-11-12
Lisle, IL
·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T U-Verse
·magicjack.com
| jeffscott-
Are you in a Condo in Atlanta?
Depending on how the building is wired & where the entry points are for both the Coax & Phone Line Network, chances are your service will utilize the existing Phone Lines to service your Condo. Once the VDSL signal is up to your Condo, the in-condo Coax may be reused for HPNA, but it would depend on the wiring situation whether or not the Coax would be used to bring up the U-Verse VDSL
I'd say on Install Day, make sure ALL Phone & Cable TV jacks in the Condo are accessible (including Kitchen, bedrooms, etc), as well as if there is a Phone and/or Cable TV blank wallplate anywhere (closets, bedrooms, etc). If it is an older Condo, there may even be an old Bell System Panel that houses the phone wiring -- the tech will need access to that, too (if there is one). |
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ILpt4U
Premium
join:2006-11-12
Lisle, IL
·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T U-Verse
·magicjack.com
| reply to jeffscott
said by jeffscott :the single coax line I currently have is in use by Comcast...would I need to have that service cancelled in the event it needs to be utilized for U-Verse?...I suspect additional wiring will be required for my install..with a single input for cable and only traditional phone jacks around for connections... If the U-Verse Tech needs to use the Coax, he/she will disconnect it from Comcast (you still have to call Comcast to cancel service though).
If you want to have U-Verse & Comcast side-by-side, and therefore deny access to the existing Coax in use by Comcast, you COULD be subject to an installation/wiring charge.
The Free Standard Installation assumes that existing wiring can be reused, which includes an assumption that your previous service provider will not be retained... |
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