Gigafast router location?

[tahibahi]

Hi, I've just had gigafast installed yesterday (in Stirling), and have a query about the best location for the router (esp to maximise the wifi speeds).

My old router was located at one end of the room (fed by a long BT phone line coming in from the master phone socket), and had 4 devices plugged into it, all of which used an ethernet cable each no longer than 1m in length.

However, the gigafast fibre entry point is now located at the other side of the room, diagonally opposite, and I was wondering if there's any merit in moving the new gigafast router as close to the fibre entry point (connecting it with a 1m cat 6/7 ethernet cable), and then use much longer ethernet cables to connect the new router up to the existing 4 devices that are located in the other side of the room?

My thinking is such that if I keep the new gigafast router in the same location as the old router, then I'll need to use a 15m ethernet cable from the new fibre entry point to the new gigafast router, and this may adverely impact the broadband speeds (via attenuation)?? Is this correct? If so, what impact might this have on the associated wifi speeds? If I want to keep the new router where the old one was then I'll need an ethernet cable of approx 15m between the fibre entry point and the new router.

My guess (possibly incorrect...!) would be that that a shorter cable between fibre entry point and the new gigafast router means less attentuation coming into the gigafast router, and therefore delivering maximum broadband router speeds at the point of entry? 

Of course, if I were indeed to move the router right next to the fibre entry point (and therefore need to connect the 4 devices with extra long ethernet cables), then there will be attentuation occuring there as well, but which set up of the 2 options would maximise the wifi speeds obtained from the router?

Thanks.

S

[Josh]

@tahibahi You are 100% correct in what you're saying in regards to getting optimum speeds by connecting the router closer to the fibre entry point, as we'd always suggest this to get maximum use out of your router. Even though you'll be using longer Ethernet cables to the devices, the router will be receiving faster speeds being closer to the entry point; thus more speed is being passed through from the router down the cables to the devices. 

[tahibahi]

@josh 

Thanks for the reply! Do you know how much data loss I would incur for each additional metre length of Ethernet cable between the router and fibre entry.... 5%?... 10%?.... even more?

cheers

[Josh]

@tahibahi There's no way for us to possibly calculate this for you, as there is too many varying factors that could effect this. We'd always advise that you keep the Ethernet cables connected to your devices to the shortest length possible, to ensure the best speeds.

[Anonymous]

Strange that because the fibre connection gets converted to an ethernet connection where the cable enters the property.  Even just using CAT5 cable from the converter/fibre-optic modem (there's a couple of different ones in use) to the router, you'd get 1Gbps in ideal conditions.  In electrically noisy household environments that are far far worse than ideal, CAT6 or CAT7 variants should be able to manage 1Gbps over 20m+ with ease.

*If the 1Gbps parts of my wired networks didn't run at 1Gbps I'd be straight in there trying to fix them!

[ThyWhiteHawk]

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@Josh wrote:

@tahibahi You are 100% correct in what you're saying in regards to getting optimum speeds by connecting the router closer to the fibre entry point, as we'd always suggest this to get maximum use out of your router. Even though you'll be using longer Ethernet cables to the devices, the router will be receiving faster speeds being closer to the entry point; thus more speed is being passed through from the router down the cables to the devices. 

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I'm afraid that @Josh is 100% wrong in that statement!!! CAT6 cable can support 1000BASE-T over a distance of 100m... and can even support 10GBASE-T for 55m. That sounds like an ill-informed boiler-plate response to me.