When a network misbehaves, the switch, the Wi-Fi or the computer usually takes the blame. Sometimes the problem is the cable. These are the signs we look for.
1. Drops and slowdowns nobody can explain
If a desk or a room loses its connection intermittently and new equipment does not fix it, the cable run or its terminations may be damaged, too long, or poorly made. Testing the run tells you for certain.
2. The cable is older than your equipment by a decade or more
Check the jacket: the category is printed on it. Cat 5 (not 5e) and older cable was not designed for today’s gigabit and multi-gigabit connections.
3. You are upgrading Wi-Fi
New Wi-Fi 6, 6E and 7 access points can push more traffic than an old cable run can carry, and many take their power over the cable too. An access-point upgrade is a good moment to run Cat 6a to each one.
4. The telecom room looks like a bowl of spaghetti
Unmanaged patch cords make every move, add or change slower and riskier. If no one wants to touch the rack for fear of unplugging the wrong thing, it is costing you time on every service call.
5. Nothing is labeled
If nobody can tell which port serves which office, troubleshooting starts with tracing wire. A properly installed system is labeled at both ends and documented.
6. The ceiling is full of cable nobody uses
Years of moves leave dead cable behind. Besides crowding the pathways, the National Electrical Code requires accessible abandoned cable to be removed, and it adds fuel load in the plenum.
7. You are renovating or moving
Walls and ceilings are open, and the floor plan is changing. It is the cheapest time you will ever have to put in new cabling, and the most expensive time to discover you should have.
What a re-cabling project looks like
We start with a walkthrough, count the drops and check the pathways and telecom rooms, then give you a written bid. The new system is installed, terminated, labeled and tested, and J&M’s workmanship carries a 1-year parts-and-labor warranty. See our structured cabling services.