Ethernet Upstairs Without Running External Cables: Powerline vs MoCA vs Cavity Drops
By Gary Pearce — Lead Network Cabling Engineer at ADI Communications (Direct: 07860 244 274) In traditional British brick-and-mortar homes, getting a reliable gigabit Ethernet connection from the ground floor router to an upstairs gaming PC, home office, or NAS drive without stapling ugly cables across the skirting board or drilling external brickwork is a major challenge. In this engineering…
The article compares three indoor networking alternatives for delivering Ethernet connections upstairs without running external cables: Powerline HomePlug AV2/G.hn, MoCA 2.5 (Multimedia over Coax), and internal Cat6 drops through cavity walls or service risers. Powerline adapters suffer from severe attenuation and high latency due to the magnetic choke in British consumer units and interference from modern electrical devices.
In contrast, MoCA 2.5 operates on high frequencies isolated from electrical wiring, providing a dedicated 2.5 Gbps pipe with low latency and jitter. For maximum performance, professional installation of internal Cat6 drops using disused fireplace breasts or floorboards is recommended, offering up to 10,000 Mbps speed and 1ms latency.
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