November/December 2018 I 15
Cabling for Wireless Access Points
Until recently, cabling for wireless access points
(WAPs) was done after the site survey, providing one
cable for each device. With this method, the wireless
infrastructure was effectively not considered part of
structured cabling, since it did not follow the same
standards. All it took was the addition of metal furniture
in a room to impose relocation of the wireless device,
requiring re-cabling of the complete cable length.
Standards have taken this into account and now
propose specific cabling guidelines for the wireless
infrastructure. Both TIA TSB-162 and ISO/IEC TR 24702
propose to install outlets in the ceiling at regular
intervals. The American version is based on a square
grid of 18.3 m side, while the international version is
based on a honeycomb structure with 12 m radius cells.
Both define a wireless service outlet (SO) with two ports
Cat 6A minimum. The access points are connected to
the closest SO with a patch cord after the site survey.
In the future they can be easily moved. While not
replacing traditional cabling, this addition is similar to
a consolidation point or MUTOA. ANSI/BICSI 008-2018,
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Systems Design
and Implementation Best Practices
covers locations and
placement of access points in greater detail.
The basic design of
FTTZ is not only
extremely close to
the HCP (SCP), but
also to the wireless SO.
FIGURE 7: Example of grid and hexagonal SO coverage
area patterns.
April 8-11 • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Toronto Congress Centre
April 8-11 • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Toronto Congress Centre
2019
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