No, not the great outdoors but big buildings, convention centers, airports, hotels, casinos and other large public spaces. They require special cabling considerations because of the size of the space and the number of users. How well do you understand designing and installing cabling for big spaces? Correct answers and explanations are in red.

1. Big spaces will usually include cabling for _______.
A. Computer networks
B. Phone networks
C. Security systems
D. All of the above

Big buildings usually have all types of systems that require appropriate cabling.

2. Large buildings mean long cabling distances, which usually means using a lot of _______ cabling.
A. Multipair telephone
B. Cat 6a
C. Coaxial
D. Fiber optic

Only fiber has the distance capability necessary for most large public spaces.

3. Public building owners generally plan on phones being connected by _______.
A. Copper telephone wires
B. Wireless
C. Voice over Internet protocol on local area networks
D. Media converters on optical fiber

Phones are mainly wireless or VoIP, which can usually work on wireless networks also.

4. The switch to wireless devices, such as laptops, smartphones and tablets, means there is no need for wired connections to most users.
True
False

Since most users now use wireless connections all the time, wiring desktops is redundant.

5. Planning and installing adequate Wi-Fi for the expected number of users means one must plan for _______.
A. Sufficient network bandwidth to the access points
B. Enough access points
C. The most recent versions of Wi-Fi
D. All of the above

Providing adequate Wi-Fi bandwidth requires providing sufficient speed to the access point, spacing access points closely for full coverage and to minimize the numbers of users for each and using the latest versions of the equipment which can handle the most users.

6. For security reasons, airports and other public spaces often require cable be installed in _______.
A. Air-handling spaces
B. Conduit
C. Plastic cable trays
D. Underfloor spaces

Metallic conduit is often used to prevent cables from being damaged either accidentally or by those wishing to disrupt communications for other reasons.

7. In busy public spaces, installation may have to be done _______ to avoid interfering with people using the space.
A. After working hours
B. Above ceilings
C. By customer personnel
D. Without using ladders

Often the user will specify that contractors work after hours to prevent disruptions during normal working hours.

8. Distances for cabling often are longer than specified distances for standardized unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) copper cabling, so powering devices using power over Ethernet (PoE) is not feasible, requiring installation of power for all remote devices.
True
False

PoE is limited to 100 meters.

9. When designing a backbone cabling system for a large public building, the backbone cable should include _______ to cover future needs.
A. UTP and fiber
B. Coaxial and fiber
C. Single-mode and multimode fiber
D. PoE conductors

Most backbone cables will be fiber, and a mix of multimode and singlemode fibers will ensure having the right choice for future expansion.

10. The main equipment room of a large building generally needs to allow room for _______ incoming connections and distribution within the space.
A. Multiple telephone system providers (wired and wireless)
B. Multiple Internet service providers
C. Cable and satellite television
D. All of the above

Most large buildings will have several providers of each service to allow choice by end-users.

HAYES is a VDV writer and educator and the president of The Fiber Optic Association. Find him at www.jimhayes.com.