THE BACKBONE OF YOUR NETWORK
Network Data Cabling
Cat6A structured cabling designed, installed and certified for schools, trusts and colleges across the UK. Our own safeguarding-trained install crews handle everything from a single classroom drop to a full multi-site re-cable — planned around your term dates, tested to British and DfE standards, and backed by a lifetime warranty.
Part of our school IT installations service.
One UK-wide team for support, connectivity and installations — cabling is delivered by the same people who look after your network every day.
Structured Cabling in Schools, MATs and Colleges
As structured cabling specialists, we've worked on some of the largest school projects in the UK, but never loosing that personal touch which our clients love us for! With 20 years experience, our dedicated experience installers with help you install a solution that's right for your school.
Our team is equipped to handle a wide range of cabling installations, and can support you from project planning to full implementation. Network cabling infrastructure in a school is essential for the smooth running of any network, and creates the foundation for solid speeds and seamless connectivity. Our dedicated project managers will design, map and plan the correct network infrastructure, taking care and time to accommodate all the voice and data cabling requirements your school needs. With our AIT installation engineers, they're trained to work within industry standards and manufacturer guideline to implement your data cabling solution within pre-defined timescales.
Because we're a managed service provider first, cabling is never a drop-and-go job for us. The infrastructure we install is the same infrastructure our helpdesk and field engineers support afterwards — so it's designed to be maintained, documented and grown, not just signed off. Whether you're a single primary school adding a new classroom block or a trust standardising cabling across twenty sites, the same UK-wide team plans, installs and stands behind the work.
Pairs naturally with Wi-Fi and wireless networks and broadband for schools.
What your cabling actually does — and why Cat6A
Network cabling is the backbone of your network, connecting the infrastructure and devices together. This includes connections from the internet, between data cabinets, switches and hard-wired devices that are connected to the network, such as Servers, PCs, Printers, VoIP Phones and Wireless Access Points. The old standard for copper cabling was Category 5 (Cat5) which has a maximum speed of 1Gbps. Upgrading to Category 6A (Cat6A) allows speeds of up to 10Gbps. Upgrading your sites cabling can feel overwhelming, especially if it's not an area your familiar with. AIT Projects team will remove the jargon and walk you through what your site needs, and how to achieve it ontime and on budget
The DfE's digital and technology standards recommend copper cabling to Category 6A for new installs and major refurbishments — and for good reason. A Cat6A backbone gives every classroom the headroom for cloud platforms, device-per-pupil schemes, VoIP telephony and Wi-Fi 6/6E access points without the network becoming the bottleneck. If you're planning a DfE Connect the Classroom project or a wireless upgrade, the cabling underneath is where it starts.
MEETING STANDARDS, AND EXCEEDING
DfE Standards
installed to the DfE's digital and technology standards for cabling in schools and colleges.
Lifetime warranty
certified installations covered by a manufacturer-backed lifetime warranty.
Cat6A Cabling
10Gbps-capable copper as standard, plus fibre backbone options between buildings.
British Standards Compliant
designed and tested to current British and European cabling standards.
Meet DfE Standards
survey, design and certification documentation that evidences compliance for your trust or governors.
Expert Team
our own employed installers, not subcontractors, trained for school environments.
Like all our team, our installation engineers are skilled to deliver. With ongoing career development , comprehensive training, and fully COSHH trained – our team are flexible to work across a variety of sites. All our team undergo extensive safeguarding training and are used to working in school environments, which separates us from some of our counterparts. Our expert team will conduct full site surveys, extensive project planning and clear timelines so you can have a full overview of goals with meticulous attention to detail.
The Highest Standards
every project closed out with User Acceptance Testing and full test results.
We understand that working with contractors can sometimes be daunting, but we've expanded from recommendations and word of month from our fantastic Schools and Trusts. Your satisfaction is our utmost priority. Upon completion of the installation, we conduct detailed User Acceptance Testing to ensure that your expectations have been met. We want you to have complete confidence in the solution and its performance.
COSHH Trained
health and safety trained crews who work hand-in-hand with your premises team.
Our installations team are fully trained in all aspects of occupational Health and Safety and will work diligently with your premises team to ensure that all requirements are met.
Reliable and Robust
As an installer we meet all the required DfE standards for structured cabling in schools. We have an extensive network of partnerships with the UKs leading cabling manufacturers and are certified cable testers, meaning all our installations come with a lifetime warranty via excel networking.
Every link we install is individually tested and certified, and you receive the full test results with your handover pack — evidence you can file for your trust, your governors or a DfE-funded project. And because we support 249 schools across the UK day to day, the warranty isn't a piece of paper from a contractor you'll never see again: it's backed by a 75-strong team that's one phone call away for the life of the installation.
You'll always know who's on site and what's next
Cabling projects fail on coordination, not cable. That's why every AIT installation is run through AIT Atlas, the operations platform we built to manage our people, projects, schools and technology — Navigate. Manage. Deliver.
- Scheduled crews, not "sometime this week". Your install crew is scheduled through Atlas's Rota, with vans and test equipment assigned through Fleet — so the team that arrives is the team that was planned, with the right kit for your site.
- Milestones your school can see. Your project manager tracks the job as milestones in Atlas's projects view and shares them with you at every stage — for example, an illustrative summer re-cable might run: site survey signed off → containment complete → 240 Cat6A outlets terminated → fibre backbone tested → User Acceptance Testing booked. You always know what's done, what's next and when.
- Your site, known before we arrive. Because Atlas holds our record of every school we work with, crews arrive briefed on your access arrangements, safeguarding requirements and premises contacts — not learning them on the doorstep.
Atlas is part of how we deliver — included with our service, not sold on top. It's one of four platforms our schools get access to alongside AIT Horizon, Helpdesk Reporting and AIT Ordering, all reachable from the Customer Portal.
(All figures illustrative.)
From site survey to signed-off certificate
Planning summer works? Book your survey early — get in touch or call 0115 9170 197.
Free site survey
We walk the site with your premises team, map existing containment and cabinets, and confirm what the building actually needs — no guesswork from floor plans.
Design and quote
A fixed-scope design covering outlet counts, cabinet locations, fibre backbone runs and containment, with clear pricing and a term-date-friendly programme.
Scheduled installation
Crews booked through Atlas, working around your school day — evenings, weekends and holiday periods where the job calls for it.
Test and certify
Every link tested with certified equipment; full results issued with your handover documentation and lifetime warranty registration.
User Acceptance Testing and handover
You sign off against the agreed scope — and because we're your MSP, the same team supports what we installed from day one.
One team for the whole project
School IT installations
our installations and projects hub: new builds, refurbishments and summer works, end to end.
Wireless networks for schools
Wi-Fi 6/6E surveys and installs that make full use of a Cat6A backbone.
Broadband for schools
the connectivity your new cabling plugs into.
CCTV and access control
safeguarding-critical systems that run over the same structured cabling.
DfE Connect the Classroom
funded upgrade projects delivered to the DfE standards.
Network cabling questions, answered
If your existing Cat5e is healthy and your needs are modest, it may serve for a while yet — but the DfE's digital standards recommend Cat6A for new installs, and it's what we fit as standard. Cat6A supports 10Gbps and comfortably powers modern Wi-Fi access points, so cabling installed today won't need ripping out when you upgrade wireless or move to a device-per-pupil scheme. A free site survey will tell you honestly whether you need a full re-cable, a partial upgrade, or nothing at all yet.
Yes — most school cabling projects are programmed around the school calendar. Larger re-cables typically run across summer or half-term holidays; smaller works can happen after hours or at weekends. Every crew member is safeguarding-trained and used to working on live school sites, and your premises team gets a named project manager and a milestone plan before anyone arrives.
Certified installations carry a manufacturer-backed lifetime warranty, and you receive individual test results for every link at handover. Because we're a managed service provider — not a one-off contractor — the team that installed your cabling is the same UK-wide team on the end of the phone afterwards on 0115 9170 197.
Every project is tracked as milestones in AIT Atlas, our operations platform — survey, containment, termination, testing, sign-off. Your project manager shares those milestones with you throughout, so leadership and premises teams can see exactly what's complete and what's scheduled without chasing for updates. Atlas is included with our service, not sold on top.
Yes — we deliver cabling and installations for schools, trusts and colleges across the UK, from single-site primaries to multi-academy trusts standardising infrastructure nationally. We currently support 249 schools and 20 trusts, and have been doing this since 2000.
LETS TALK
Get in touch
We understand the unique needs and challenges that are faced by schools, and we are all about finding a solution that works for you. Get in touch with our friendly team to have a chat about how we can support you on your digital journey.
0115 9170 197 · hello@advanceditservices.co.uk
Existing school? Log in via the Customer Portal to reach all four platforms.