[plug] wiring a house

[Daniel Foote]

> The comms information, I can vouch for - I spoke to someone, at the
> Australian Communications Authority (IIRC) and basically ANYTHING
> after the telco's socket in the wall is "anything goes" - wires on
> the floor - attached to ceiling - probably bunged back into the wall
> and then led around the house as well. I did this check bbecause of a
> house inspection from a dragon lady who was convinced that my CAT 5
> was a "fire hazard"

What they have told you is true, but your interpretation is a little
broader than what they actually mean.

Any non-fixed wiring doesn't need a licence: ie, the cable from the
phone wall point to your modem is ok. You can run that as far as you
like. Until you start making it permanent in any way, that's when you
need the licence.

Ethernet cables are the same: make them, connect them to computers,
but not permanently. Not through a wall, unless you run it on the
floor between rooms.

The reason for this distinction relates to why the standards have been
put in place: they are trying to prevent situations where someone runs
some cables in a wall near power cables, and then puts a nail in the
wall connecting the two without knowing. You then go to use the phone
and get zapped. That's what all the commotion is about. The standards
specify seperations from power cables that minimize the likelyhood of
this happening. (It also helps to stop some interference on data
lines).

In case you are wondering, I am Austel licenced myself. I got the
licence before I wired up my own house.

Hope this clears this up.

Daniel Foote.