new installation question

[linberl]

I'm a happy sonic net fusion user and my son is switching over. In his apartment, the phone jack is near the front door and the closest electrical outlet is all the way across the main living area. With his dry loop service, we had to run a very long phone cord across the ceiling and down to his modem. With the new sonic service, does an installer come out? Will they be able to move the phone jack so it is near an outlet? Is there any other solution to the long cord (it's a rental so a new outlet is not an option)? Will the long cord impact his speed or line quality? I know he has 30 days to see if it works ok, but if there is a reasonable solution, he can talk to his landlord now.

[virtualmike]

Will the long cord impact his speed or line quality?

If it's a flat cord like those available at most retailers, likely, yes, it will affect the connection speed and/or quality.

It would be better to run an electrical extension cord to the phone jack from the nearest power outlet.

[linberl]

Unfortunately he would have to cross to openings in walls, one door and one 4 foot alcove opening. 25' is the direct distance, but routing it around everything so he doesn't trip on it on the floor would be around 40'. And ugly, having a fat extension cord running everywhere. He can't be the first person to have this problem, so I know there has to be some better solution out there. I'm wondering if there isn't a way to "extend" to current phone jack without degrading the signal. Something like a "powerline" system for jacks instead of outlets? Or is there some kind of cord that is better than the flat kind that would work? I think he is using a rounded cord currently, don't know if that's better.

[virtualmike]

I'd think there'd be the same problem with routing a phone cable, but yes, it can be done. To do so, use a twisted-pair extension cord. A CAT5 or CAT6 network cable would provide that, but likely the current phone jack has an RJ-11 jack, while a network cable needs an RJ-45 jack.

Twisted pair cords are hard to find, but that's the only way to get a good connection that won't absorb a lot of electronic noise for a run of 40 feet.

[linberl]

Thanks Virtualmike. We will try that. the phone cords are thinner and more easily bent around door frames, etc., than an extension cord. I've got a power cord I can take over, so we can compare any speed difference between the two methods. If the power cord extension bumps the speed up over the twisted pair cable, we can go looking for a thin profile cord somewhere like Lowes. I'm pretty sure I can find a twisted pair at monoprice or cables2go online.

[virtualmike]

You're welcome!