New homes are being built at an astonishing rate these days and particular features, specifically, structured wiring are becoming standard in every home. Many perceived luxuries of the past are regular features today, including air conditioning, dishwashers, cable TV, VCRs and home computers. New homebuyers don’t want their primary investment to be technologically obsolete.

More than 50% of US households have at least one computer and 1 in every three people in the US use the Internet. Over 80% of new homebuyers want home office space. Today’s consumers are demanding more services: Digitals satellite, HDTV & Digital cable, Internet TV and Movies on Demand. Homeowners are using their Internet for communication, shopping, doing research, managing financial portfolios, and news. Households with cable TV service equal 70%.

In the past, home telephone wiring was designed for voice only and second lines were a luxury. Since 1910, telephone outlets have been "daisy chained" together with low-grade telephone wire. Poor quality cable and bad connections are subject to noise, interference and " crosstalk"- hearing other conversations. A single problem corrupts every phone outlet. A structured wiring system uses a wider bandwidth wiring system. Simply put, more bandwidth equals more information passing thru the wire. The amount of bandwidth is critical for current and future information services. Category 5 (CAT5) wire is used for phone, fax modem and high-speed digital computer transmissions. CAT5 wire consists of 4 twisted pairs of high quality copper wire enclosed in an outer jacket as opposed to using Bell Wire for telephone communication. Until recently this type of wire was commonly used. Bell Wire consists of two pairs of copper wires. It was designed for voice conversations only. This wire is highly susceptible to noise interference.

Years ago with rooftop antennas, television broadcasts were poor and very susceptible to interference from weather. With the introduction of cable TV around 1975, homeowners experienced improved picture quality, more channels, but still low picture quality by today’s standards. The use of RG6 Quad Shield for cable TV, digital satellite, cable modem and high speed interactive video service gives the homeowner high immunity to interference and can support hundreds of channels and digital data. RG6 is a coaxial cable with an insulated center wire and four layers of shielding.

With these facts in mind many new homeowners are opting to install a "Stuctured Wiring System." This system consists of star-wiring, which means instead of daisy chaining, all cables are "home-run" to the central hub. High quality cable connections – also called terminations- ensure a high performance end-to-end system. With cable management, services can easily be redirected as the homeowner’s family grows and their needs change.

The installation of a structured wiring system in a home allows a family to be ready for the future. A Central Hub, also called Service Center is the point that accepts incoming services and distributes them throughout the home. This Central Hub is housed in an panel box and clearly labeled. By using high quality copper phone wire and high quality coaxial cable homeowners are ready for several options: an Integrated Services Digital Network - ISDN, a Digital Subscriber Line service - DSL or cable modem technology (Roadrunner) which will transmit high speed data anywhere from 50 to 270 times faster than today’s standard phone lines. This technology will also allow for the sharing of high-speed Internet connections, computer files and printers. It eliminates having costly high-speed data lines to every computer. Consumers can set up a whole-house video system, which will allow them to view a video source on a specific channel on every TV in the home. Baby room cameras provide the ability to view sleeping infants from any room and front door cameras will enable screening for possible intruders.

A system such as OnQ Technologies is a simple cost-effective solution to upgrade current phone and TV wiring. A standards-based, advanced technology ensures access to the Information Superhighway. A structured wiring panel installed in any new or existing home will prevent technical obsolescence. Modern home wiring systems are essential in today’s ever changing Information Age. Is your home ready for the future?