TRA issues guidelines on wired Internet

With more residential houses opting for wired Internet, the national regulatory body has issued a special advisory video on wiring in the premises.

Ibrahim al Maawali of the technical specifications department at the Telecom Regulatory Authority, said that in every building there must be special infrastructure to facilitate the delivery of telecom services by service providers.

He said the main principles of connection include equipping the building with wall wiring to the main distribution box in the middle on the ground floor.

The extension of the cables should be continuous without intermediate connections and the sizes of cables should consider the future needs of such services.

The path for communication cables inside the building should be separate from the electrical cables at an appropriate distance according to the electrical voltage.

The electrical contractors involved in the process should take care not to install communication sockets in a place that may be exposed to moisture, dust, or extreme heat, and not to place communication sockets in a place less than 30 cm above the floor surface.

For single-story residential buildings, it is recommended to use an extension of Class VI copper cabling to connect the main distribution box to all telecommunication sockets through ducts, and to provide cables from the main box for each wireless network device (WiFi).

For multi-storey residential buildings, they must provide the main distributor box on the ground floor linked to rising channels with the floor distribution boxes on each floor.

The technicians must provide a distribution box in each unit on the one floor with the provision of cable passage channels. As for commercial buildings, a separate communication room must be provided as an alternative to the main distribution box.

Last week, TRA warned about risks when creating wireless networks for the purpose of sharing Internet services with neighbours.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the TRA said that such activities can cause technical glitches.

“There is a possibility of interference in wireless networks and the impact on the speed and quality of service for the rest of the subscribers in the same area.”