In a recent Federal Communications Commission bulletin, it was announced that all telecommunications wire used in simple inside wiring installations are required to be Category 3 or higher as defined in the ANSI/EIA/TIA Building Wire Standards, consisting of twisted pair construction with a minimum gauge size of 24 AWG.

FCC Intends to Hang Up On "Cross-Talk"
The newly mandated upgrade comes on the heel of careful studies of the effects caused by "cross-talk" on poor-quality, non-twisted pair inside wiring used for telecommunications service. "Cross-talk" is most likely to

occur in homes and small businesses utilizing simple inside wiring configurations in which poor quality wires serving multiple telephones are bundled together. In many cases, homeowners and home buyers would not experience the effect of poor quality wiring until additional telephones or services (Internet, fax, etc.) were added to the existing wiring.

The rule change benefits consumers and small businesses by (1) ensuring that wiring in new installations will be capable of accommodating clear telecommunications and digital transmissions, and (2) decreasing the necessity for expensive replacement of poor quality simple inside wiring.

Which Means "What?"
All new installations of simple inside wiring used for telecommunications service must use the new standard effective July 10, 2000. The intention of this action, according to the FCC announcement, is "to encourage builders to install quality inside wiring ensuring that consumers will continue to have access to widely available communications service," and " . . . to protect consumers from degradation of basic telephone service that can be caused by the installation of substandard wiring."

New cable marking requirements are every 12" to assist in the verification in new applications. The FCC notes that consumers may enforce this ruling by civil claims against the builder or contractor "if beset by problems caused by poor quality inside wire" after the rule is adopted.