Is it acceptable to run Cat 6 along the top of lighting trunking?

Question

In our factory, we have lighting trunking running above the factory floor, which contains electrical cables and has fluorescent lights hung off the underside.

It goes everywhere and could potentially provide a particularly accessible and easy to get to with Cat 6 cable place to mount wifi access points.

I've been warned off doing this in the past - I'm well aware that there's plenty of advice out there that says don't run Cat 6 along with power in the same direction. But is there any way around that... Do people do it anyway and it doesn't cause issues? Do the access points themselves suffer from interference due to proximity to electrical cabling or fluorescent lighting?

My other option is to mount access points to a 10 metre high roof using a scissor lift, but getting access and securing cabling along the route to the roof isn't nearly as easy as the lighting trunking.

Answer 1

You need proper structured cable pathways. There are standards for this, and your cable installer should be familiar with the ANSI/TIA/EIA-569 Commercial Building Standards for Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces and follow them.

Don't ever use power pathways to run low-voltage cabling. This can cause problems, and it is violation of the building codes in most most jurisdictions which can result in fines and/or having the building red-tagged, preventing occupation, until the problem is corrected.