"Allpath" is one of the biggest misnomers out there. If you hear someone using that term, run in the opposite direction. It is "ALPETH", as in Aluminum Shielded, Polyethelene jacket. There's also CUPETH and STALPETH. "Allpath or Outpath" has never been proper terminology and has nothing to do with protection. It's just a bad "I think I know what I am talking about" term.

No, icky-pic cable should never be punched down indoors whatsoever. There are certain exceptions, specifically situations were a BET/PET has a self-contained splice chamber where the flamable filling compound and the cable's terminations are sealed in a fire-retardant area. To simply punch a filled cable onto a block has never been safe or legal. When I refer to "icky-pic", I refer to any cable that contains a gel filling compound. These cables are rated for outdoor use only. There is still also the appropriate sheath bonding measures, etc. that must be followed. There is a lot more involved with outdoor cabling than simply buying filled cable and a punch-down protected block.

I know what you have mentioned about installations in the Southwest, particularly at resort hotels that involve multiple buildings. I have seen how filled cable is simply punched down on a 66 block in an electrical enclosure on the outside of a block of hotel rooms. People think that this is proper.

If this was so "proper", why do telcos spend ten-times the material cost to terminate these cables proplerly? There is so much more to installing outdoor cabling than what appears to be obvious. This is a completely different industry and interconnects need to leave these installations to the professionals.

Most telcos bring these cables into the building for a minimal distance and then splice them to cable stubs that are not filled. These splices are accomplished using bolted aluminum, steel or Fiberglass splice closures that will effectively contain potential fires in the event of maintained cable contact with high voltages.

A filled cable may be terminated outdoors without fear of fire danger. While still not appropriate, this type of cable can be terminated just about any way desired as long as its terminations are outside. This practice is very common with regular residential network interfaces; gooey cable pairs are terminated, BUT, this occurs in the "telco only" compartment.

Shorting pairs with snips on a 66 block are not a problem. The sparks that cause fires are the ones due to burning cable pairs due to maintained exposure to high voltages. Many gel filling compounds in direct burial cable are petroleum-based and will react to heat, not simple sparks. A properly-installed and terminated filled cable won't ever end up anywhere near a pair of snips on a block. That's the trick; finding out if it's properly installed. If you get icky-pick on your tools or fingers, it's not properly installed.

Ed Vaughn, MBSWWYPBX