Data & Network Outlets

Why a wired point is worth putting in, and which cable to use

Wireless has replaced cable for most things, and then does not, in the places where it matters most. A desk that needs a stable connection, a television streaming at the far end of the house from the router, a games console, a work-from-home setup on a video call. Those all behave better on a cable, and a wall outlet turns a cable into part of the room rather than something taped along a skirting board.

Cat5e handles gigabit over the distances found in a house and is sufficient for almost every domestic use. Cat6 offers headroom for faster links over longer runs and is worth specifying where a house is being rewired anyway, because the cost difference is small and the wall is already open. Beyond that the gains are for commercial installations rather than homes. The outlet must match the cable, so decide the cable first.

How many outlets to fit

Our outlets are single-gang, which is the standard for a data point, and the useful question is how many positions rather than how many ports per plate. A television position wants one; a desk wants two, because a computer and a dock or a second machine both want a line. The advice from anyone who has retrofitted a house is to fit more than you think, because the cost is in opening the wall and running the cable, not in the outlet. Two at each position costs very little more than one.

Where to put them

The positions that earn their keep are the ones people cable to anyway: behind the television, at a desk, beside the router, and wherever a games console or a work machine lives. Beyond that, a point in each bedroom is cheap while the walls are open and impossible afterwards.

Height matters more than people expect. A data outlet behind a wall-mounted television wants to sit behind the screen rather than below it, so measure the bracket first. At a desk, standard socket height puts the plate behind whatever is on the desk, which is usually what you want. And keep data runs away from mains cable where you can — parallel runs over any distance can degrade a link, and crossing at right angles is the generally accepted way to handle it where the two must meet.

Faceplates and modules, and why they are sold separately

Most data outlets here are a faceplate plus a snap-in module. That sounds like an extra decision but it is the flexible arrangement: one faceplate takes a data module, a telephone module or a blank, so a position can change without changing the plate. It also means a twin plate can hold one data and one telephone point. Where a product is supplied complete we say so on the page.

Telephone points, and what has changed

Copper telephone service is being withdrawn across the UK and most telephone sockets now carry broadband rather than a voice line. That does not make them redundant, since the master socket is still where a line enters the house, but it does mean a new telephone extension is rarely worth fitting where a data outlet would serve better. If you are adding points during a refit, data is the one to run.

Matching outlets to the rest of the wall

A data outlet sits at desk height and gets looked at, so the finish matters more than for a socket behind furniture. Ours run in the same finishes as the switch and socket ranges, and the same profile choices, so a data point beside a double socket reads as part of the same installation. Where a plate is white and the sockets are brushed chrome, the eye goes straight to it.

Fitting and testing

Data cabling is not covered by Part P, so it is one of the few electrical-looking jobs a competent person can do at home. The module punches down onto the cable with a tool that costs very little, and the order of the conductors matters — use one standard throughout the house and label both ends. Test the link before closing the wall. A run that fails at the far end is much cheaper to find before the plaster goes back.