The Ethernet network cable and the use of PLC (Powerline) devices are two of the preferred ways to bring the Internet anywhere in the house. In some homes we already have rooms with Ethernet network sockets, however, there are houses that are somewhat older and do not have this type of wall network socket, so a very good option is to use PLC devices. Today at RedesZone we are going to tell you in which cases it is better to use PLC devices or Ethernet network cable, depending on various scenarios that we can find.
Scenarios where using Ethernet cable is the best option
The Ethernet network cable is the type of connection that will give us greater speed, better connection stability, and a simply excellent user experience when using the local network and the Internet. All homes in Spain from the year 2011 incorporate network sockets in the different rooms, living room and kitchen, so if you have a home that you recently bought, you will have the entire house wired, which will make it easier for you to set up a WiFi Mesh system connecting it to the network sockets to have the best possible wireless performance.
In the event that your house does not have Ethernet network socketsthings get complicated, and we only recommend wiring in the following cases:
- If you have empty conduits from where we have the router connected to the room where you want to have wired connectivity.
- If you are going to do work at home, you can put ducts through the false ceiling or behind the walls, which are usually made of plasterboard, which makes it much easier to introduce an Ethernet network cable.
- If you don’t mind having to run the cable over the skirting board. Aesthetically, this option is the worst, since it will be seen where the Ethernet network cable goes.
If your house is not wired, and you do not have ducts, nor are you going to do work at home, and you have completely ruled out the possibility of running the network cable above the baseboard, then you only have the option of PLCs.
Use PLCs only in these cases
PLC devices should be one of the last options to connect to the local network and the Internet, you must bear in mind that these devices are very sensitive to the electrical installation you have at home, in addition, how you have the electrical panel (differentials , superimmunized differentials, circuit breakers etc). The devices work well if you don’t mind getting a low speed, maximum real 300Mbps in most cases, and also if you don’t mind having a bit high jitter.
This type of device is only recommended for use in these cases:
- There is no Ethernet network cabling and no possibility to install it.
- We do not have a simultaneous triple band WiFi Mesh system. These devices have a dedicated frequency band for the connection of the different nodes, but the cost is quite high.
- We want something relatively cheap to bring the Internet connection to a specific room, garage or cellar.
- We do not mind that the speed is approximately 300Mbps real, or have a somewhat high jitter.
As you can see, the Ethernet network cable must always be given priority above all else, however, there are certain scenarios where Powerline PLC devices can be a really interesting option to connect to the Internet.
