[AusNOG] Pokethernet cable tester

[Glen Turner]

John Lindsay wrote:
> To put it in perspective, I'm qualified to work on cabling inside a telephone exchange because the owner of the site gets to make the rules and I hold certain access rights but I don't have a cabling license so I'm not qualified in your house.

Hi John

The contrary argument is that people owning or buying a house cannot check that the work is up to a reasonable quality. You only need to read Whirlpool for a few moments to see that consumers need protection from the knowledge and skill of the average person with a technical bent.  The practical requirement of the current certification is probably beyond what is needed for safety and skill, and I’d be in favour of lowering that so that a capable person could get a certificate with a couple of months of an evening at week at a TAFE.

One big plus is that the Wiring Rules are public. That’s a huge advance on the situation with construction, where all the legislation and regulation ends up referring to Standards Australia documents priced beyond what a consumer can afford. So at least an interested consumer can access the knowledge to challenge the quality of work of a telecommunications cabler.

Paul Jones wrote:
> The whole idea of the licence requirement starts to break down when your comms service is delivered via fibre, as there is nothing electrically you could do anyway to break it.

The risks don’t go away, they change. For example, control of sharps.

-glen