The homeowner WON'T patch things around. They spend tons of extra money for these "boxes" but when it comes to troubleshooting or reconfigurations, they don't have a clue. It's like them paying for each single branch circuit in their house to be terminated on a NEMA plug into a bank of NEMA receptacles. It's a great idea, but a bad one even more.
The concept of more than one RG6 coax run to any location is pretty silly to say the least. RG6 is used for cable TV or satellite receivers and it's extremely rare that more than one run will ever be required unless the original run wasn't installed properly and it fails.
As for CAT5e, this is also a gross misconception. NO telephone service requires this type of wiring. It is overkill, simply a buzz word. Telephone lines arrive to the premises via "CAT ZERO" wiring (there isn't really a CAT zero rating, it just has no rating at all). Telephone lines overcome miles of various conditions before they arrive at the network interface device (NID). You are not going to improve the customer's telephone line quality by over-installing the in-house telephone wiring.
To do this, you are effectively running 8-2 Romex for your lighting circuits. Such a terrible waste. Of course, you can charge more to entertain this buzz word requirement, but unless you really know what the term "CAT" means, using just this wire does not constitute a proper installation. There are many pieces of hardware required to provide a true "CAT5e" installation that can be certified.
Yes, this wiring is necessary for a data communications network, but it has nothing to do with telephone lines. If a customer expresses a requirement for data communications, bear in mind that this has NOTHING to do with cable TV, DSL or phone lines. It is a separate in-house network of certified home runs (CAT5e minimum) installed, tested and terminated properly.
Think about this from your own usage perspective. Would you ever need two cable TV outlets and two telephone outlets in each room? Of course not. More importantly, why in the world would you need them in the same outlet box? Call me crazy, but I don't know of anyone who keeps their phone connected at the same side of the room where the TV is.
One more thing. Cable modem service for Internet only has to go to one place, not every room in house. It goes to a single RG6 outlet where the cable modem is installed. Same thing applies for customers using DSL. The output from this modem is sent into a customer-provided router and possibly a switch (hub). Then, and only then does this service extend to other rooms and it is done either wirelessly or via certifiable CAT5e runs from the router/switch/hub location. This IS NOT the location where the telephone company or cable TV service enters the building.
You are not doing your customers a favor in bringing these cable runs to the location of the electric service or to the NID location. This is a very unique industry that isn't as simple as it appears. I know that I am probably not making many friends here in spreading this information, but I have to tell it like it is.
If you really want to learn more about this industry, sign up at this site
http://www.sundance-communications.com/forum/ultimatebb.php and many of us (who are also members here) will offer you guidance.
[This message has been edited by EV607797 (edited 01-08-2007).]