If you want to have internet access in a building with multiple rooms like hotels, retirement homes, schools or a large house, you need a lot of wiring. This is often already in place but Ethernet over Coax makes it possible to use existing antenna cables as data lines.
The project
Suitable for: Advanced
Time required: 30 minutes
Budget: from 300 euros
What you need: EoC system (e.g. EOC 1-32 from Axing)
Can be extended with: further modules (e.g. EOC 2-32 from Axing)
Required: Router, internet access and PC, laptop or tablet
The solution to connection problems
Today, being able to use the internet seems almost a matter of course. Fast, always-on connections for the home are already available for a small monthly fee, and a WLAN router distributes the data wirelessly throughout the house. But how do you supply a large building with many rooms? A WLAN network would not reach everywhere, and WLAN repeaters are also only a solution to a limited extent. And providing all the rooms with Ethernet connections means an immense construction effort.
The solution to this problem is called Ethernet-over-Coax: in many buildings there are already cables for connecting television and radio in the walls, and there is a connection socket in every room. Thanks to Ethernet-over-Coax, it is possible to use these for internet signals in addition to television.
Safer than a power line
For a long time now, there have been solutions that route internet data via existing power cables (powerline). These are also a convenient solution to the problem of house-wide networking. However, in contrast to antenna cables, there is a decisive difference: power cables are not shielded and have high losses when transmitting data. As a result, the data rate drops very quickly over longer distances. In addition, the power grid of a house is connected to the outside world and is therefore open and unsecured. Antenna cables, on the other hand, are only in the house itself, there is no connection to the environment and they thus offer no additional point of attack for possible intruders. Ethernet-over-Coax is therefore many times more secure than Powerline.
Choosing the right EoC system
The individual devices differ in terms of transfer rate, frequency range and whether the setup is only via Ethernet or also WLAN. It is important to note that modems such as EOC 1-32 and EOC 2-32 should only be used in a CATV network (cable TV) if the forward path frequency range starts at 258 MHz. Otherwise, when using these two modules, the TV programmes transmitted below this frequency are omitted. In any case, the TV cable in the house must be backward channel-compatible. If there is any uncertainty, the TV distribution system should be checked – it may be necessary to replace components in the system first.
How to create an easy access network
Two modems (e.g. EOC 1-32 from Axing) are all that is needed to get started. One of these is connected via an Ethernet cable to the Internet router and via a coaxial cable – an antenna cable – to the return channel-capable antenna socket or the SAT multi-switch.For cable TV, an intermediate plug is still necessary: For EOC 1-31 or 2-31 from Axing a high-pass filter TZU 19-65, for EOC 1-32 and 2-32 a high-pass filter TZU 19-68X.
Another EOC 1-32 modem is connected to the antenna socket of a remote room and one or two computers are connected to its Ethernet port. The television or satellite receiver can be operated as before. For cable TV in modern gigabit cable networks or DVB-T reception, the TV signal can be looped through the EoC modem. For cable TV networks that have not yet been expanded and in which TV programmes are also transmitted below 258 MHz, the modem connection is made via a TZU 40-03 switch.
Private Wi-Fi for each room
With one modem per room and another modem for the Internet router, up to 15 rooms can be connected to the central router. However, it would be more convenient to work with modems such as EOC 2-31 or EOC 2-32 from Axing, which still provide WLAN at the end points themselves. For facilities such as hotels or retirement homes (but also schools), this approach is the ideal solution because many users work with a laptop or even a tablet and do not want to or cannot connect this via a cable. After all, many modern laptops, especially those with a particularly flat design, no longer have an Ethernet connection at all.
Another advantage is that each room is equipped with its own WLAN. This means that guests and residents do not have to share wireless networks, which – especially in large facilities – is always associated with a certain security risk. Instead, visitors of a retirement home resident can log into the respective WLAN of their family member. It can be set that the devices in the WLAN do not see each other. This isolates the individual users from each other and enables particularly secure use.
Image credit: https://de.fotolia.com/id/188742512
First publication: 06.03.2018 | Fundamental revision: 06.01.2021
