Wow, what a mess. I'll admit that the new stuff is much more professional than the original stuff.

If we are going to crank up the BIX/110 argument, here is my only gripe about BIX based upon this installation (bear in mind, I'm not anti-BIX):

With BIX, unused areas in an arranged or non-arranged layout result in bare naked cables or pairs being visible. The left side is indicative of this in the picture. Unless cables/pairs are neatly dressed throughout the layout, it's going to be visible, right there in view. I assure you that "Leon" the CLEC installer" isn't going to have a clue, nor care about keeping things neat and organized. A comparable 110 installation would have resulted in those bare pairs or cables being out of sight.

If I recall correctly, the entire concept of BIX and 110 systems was to provide a true "dead-front" design, where the cable core or multiple cables were terminated one time and fully-protected from the fingers of non-professionals. The only damage that the untrained could do was on the front face which is easy to identify and fix.

"As long as the back side is installed per the system design, there should never be a reason to approach the back side of either system again".

With 110 blocks, the wiring blocks themselves provide a separate front/rear area so that even unoccupied spaces simply appear as white empty space. There are no "flying cables" or "pairs" that won't be hidden until the field is fully populated with blocks AND proper labeling as with BIX.

The problem is that both BIX and 110 hardware can be screwed to the wall "on the fly" by any untrained yokel, just like 95% of the 66 blocks out there. If 66/110/BIX systems are aligned using their intended mounting systems and labeled properly, they are incredibly compact and efficient. All of those "I can't pick up a tone" complaints are due to the improper installation BEHIND the installation.

Back to the photos: Writing cable origins or terminations with a Sharpie on plywood is the epitome of unprofessional. Ten years from now, those markings will read "2ae8cg57nRE$#A$Em%age" as the ink gets done soaking into the wood.

While I'll give the original installer credit for their attempt at cable sheath bonding, it looks like something that was done after nap time in Kindergarten class. Bad, just bad, but at least they made an effort.

How about that green sparkie ground wire (green=sparkie, telco gray=telephone professional, Bare copper=acceptable medium) going down to the bottom-left blocks? I'd love to know how they made the transition between a #10 THHN wire and a BIX block. A hundred beige staples on that green wire makes it even prettier.

I will say that the new installation looks much more properly done with the lacing to allow the modules to be tipped out (assuming jumpers are routed properly). I would not have allowed the naked pairs of the cables to be exposed in the inter-bay routing. The cable jackets should not have been opened until about one inch into the next mount.

Ed Vaughn, MBSWWYPBX