If you are running telephone and ethernet on the same cable then it is most likely interference from the telephone pair. POTS (Plain Old Telephone Sockets) have a constant voltage of 50V and ring at 75V with an engaged voltage of 35V.
It will not be the electrical 110V causing interference because your switch cancels the noise out because it if grounded(negative) to your home installation(on which your switch runs and knows about this frequency so it can eliminate is successfully).
Why will it pick up noise from the telephone voltage? Because the power is coming from outside your house on a separate ground loop that has a unique frequency resonance which is not the same as your houses' frequency(not talking about 50hz/60hz - But electromagnetic radiation). This will cause the switch to suffer packet loss because it cannot successfully XOR noise that is generated from the phone lines voltage frequency.
To solve this problem in order of cheapest to most expensive:
- Do not run the phone line on the same cable as Ethernet.
- Buy a VoiP router like Linksys SPA family and plug your phone line in there and route all traffic via ether to IP phones.(But also you can then run the phone out from the SPA because it is grounded at your home and you are within the loop)
Please Note:
Some distribution boxes have a lightning protector or surge protector installed that link in the actual earth(also called ground) but earth is used in UK, Some parts of EU and ZA(not sure about USA) to detect appliance fault and gives lightning a short path to the earth. Usually the earth bar is connected to a rod that goes into the ground outside the house or bound to the incoming phase shield which is earthed at the main power box. When I talk about ground I mean the actual negative(-) wire of an appliance or analog / digital circuit.
NEVER TRY TO GROUND(NEGATIVE) THE TELEPHONE TO YOUR HOME GROUND OR A GROUND LOOP ISOLATOR
As it seems the OP grounded his telephone but it is most likely earthing the cable not actual negative.
Doing this can cause damage to the telephone network costing you thousands dollars and/or cause death or serious bodily injury from electrical shock. Remember that the ground of your home has a different impedance than ground from the telephone network and can result in 110V electrical shock! That is why it is illegal to rewire telephone sockets in many countries. For your own safety.
Cable companies should not be penetrating the building with cables like the way you describe. Water can flow down this wire and into the building if it's not sealed properly. And if it is sealed properly, if the wire is able to be moved in and out because it's not securely anchored then it will eventually be able to leak should water get around it.
Have they also put a bend in the wire below the entry point to prevent water flowing into the house? Have they anchored the wire so it can't move in and out ?
Several easy ways I've found to put wire into the building without drilling unsightly holes and that won't cause leaks.
1) Go under a flashing. On my house we have an old iron roof with lead flashing. I've been able to put a wire up under the flashing. I just lifted the edge of it slightly and pushed it in. Then I bent the lead flashing back down over the wire. As the antenna was downhill of the flashing, water couldn't go up the wire in any way and enter the house.
2) Bring the wire down to the guttering, and poke the wire up under the edge of the roof. Usually there is a gap to allow ventilation. This allows you to get the wire into the attic space and you'll then be able to put it into any room you desire.
3) Bring the wire down one of the downpipes. Then if you happen to have a raised foundation like my house, put it through one of the ventilation ducts at ground level. I then bring it up into a wall cavity from below.
4) You could also bring the wire in through a hole in the sofit and then into the ceiling space where you could then bring it down into the house through an internal wall. Not as tidy or as easy as just ducking in under the iron though.
Important: Water can flow down a bent wire through surface tension. So wherever it enters, make sure it can't do that by putting a sharp bend in the wire just below the entry point. That way any water will run off on the outside and not into your home!
Update: I see that they have anchored it and added the loop at the bottom. And there does appear to be some sealant around the entry point. It should be OK, but it is really ugly and doesn't pass any tests for beauty.
Update2: Since you want to enter from below this is what I suggest.
Re-route the cable down the down pipe that I see running down the wall.
Clip the cable to it using appropriate UV rated cable ties.
It appears to me that your house is raised on some concrete or wood piles. It looks similar in construction to my house where there is a concrete foundation around the outside of the house and probably concrete or wooden piles within. If that's the case then if there are vents in this (there really should be) you can poke your wire through one. If not, drill a hole through that outer foundation. It'll require a long bit and a powerful hammer drill - take your time. Then once you are through, poke your cable through and you can then bring it into whichever room you wish.
Best Answer
To activate it you will need to create a network with a hub, router or switch. If you are adding broadband Internet access, you will need a broadband router which will share Internet access with the network.
Only thing is, the Ethernet cables should be terminated inside the house (unless you are planning to share your network outside the house). Home networking equipment is for indoor use only. This solves the issue with not having an electrical outlet.