Home Cabling Goes Unregulated as Fake Network Cable Floods the Market

A family preparing to move in wants several network points installed during the fit-out, only to find the renovation contractor has a shaky grasp of low-voltage cabling, even handing over substandard cable that cannot transmit a network reliably as if it were up to standard. Local consumers say that ordinary renovation firms are good at running conduit and concealing cables, but tend to be vague about cable grades, connector terminations and post-completion testing, making it hard for owners to tell good workmanship from bad.

The core problem is the long-standing lack of a clear division of labour between home renovation and low-voltage works: technicians who understand server-room-grade cabling rarely take on domestic flats, while the so-called high-spec network cable on the market is mixed with counterfeit copper-clad aluminium, and owners have neither the professional instruments to verify it nor the standing to demand each run be tested, leaving a severe information asymmetry. As household demand for a stable wired network rises, this service vacuum between renovation and network expertise is leaving many owners to discover only after completion that the cable and workmanship fall short.