Choosing a Cabler
It is difficult to find a good cabler or cablign company to work with. Most are interested in the slapping some cable in, getting things live, and then getting out as quickly as possible. Some don't even test to make sure the new data drop does what you need!
There are many cablers that will run the cable and then leave without placing a patch cable from the new data drop to your equipment! I know that is hard to imagine, but we have seen this numerous times over the last 30 years.
There are a few things you should ask before choosing a cabler:
- Do you guarantee your data runs are good?
I know this seems like something that you should not need to ask, but many cabling companies bring inexperienced cable technicians to job sites and some of their data drops are not good. If you do not clarify this up-front, they may charge you for the return trip to fix what they failed to do correctly! We have a 6 month guarantee. If you find that drops were not punched down correctly, we will return and fix the issue at no charge.
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If we have work in the future, can we have the same tech come back out?
It is smart to have more than one tech visit your location, but you do not want a different tech sent out each time you need something. We try to assign 2-3 cabling technicians to your company so they learn about your building and any special configurations you may have.
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What type of cable are they running?
Make sure you clarify whether you are having CAT3, CAT5, CAT6, Fiber (and Fiber specs) or another type of cable ran. Also, is this shielded cable? Some cabling companies provide cheap quotes and do this by using cheap cable or cable that is not rated for the building you are in (varies per city). This might cause network slowness or an issue during your next building inspection.
It's very important to ask about the cable type. If you receive a quote for a super low price, most likely that cabler is going to Home Depot and picking up a case of unshielded CAT5 and installing it. Not only will you suffer from slower transfer speeds, you may be breaking the law and could be fined until it is replaced.
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Can you certify all cables?
This is an optional item, but something you should think about. We do use a tester to verify each cable we run is working. Official certification is a longer process and requires a different testing tool. We can add this service to your project if you wish.
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Do you have a Network Engineer I can speak with?
Sometimes it is good to have a network engineer assist with planning if this is a larger project or if you don't have anyone in your circle that can help. We do work with our partner company Network Commander technicians to help large and small organizations plan full build outs, remodels, equipment refreshes, and core network changes.
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Are you licensed, bonded, and insured?
Our cablers meet all local requirements. This varies per city and state.
