around here SBC demands Cat 5 from the demarc or they won't hook up for us in residential (DSL?)

Like to know why. Is the rest of the house using CAT5? Is their OSP cable CAT5? There is actually a downside to using CAT5 or CAT6 for DSL. The increased capacitance on each pair due to the tight twists can cause additional attenuation of the DSL carrier with long runs.

The only thing I can think of for that requirement is that they are thinking ahead for fiber to the home (FTTH) as Verizon has just rolled out here. An optical interface unit is installed on the outside of the house and a ethernet cable is run inside to the router. This of course would be a CAT5 or 6 cable. The question is what good would it be when it is dressed and terminated for POTS unless additional slack is provide at each end for retermination.

-Hal

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