Entrance facility (EF)

A room in a building where antenna, public, and

private network service cables can enter the building and be consolidated. Should
be located as close as possible to the entrance point. Entrance facilities are often
used to house electrical protection equipment and connecting hardware for the
transition between outdoor and indoor cable. Also called an entrance room.

TIA-569-C recommends that a dedicated entrance facility be used for

buildings that have more than 20,000 square feet that can be used.
For buildings with more than 70,000 usable square feet, TIA-569-C
recommends that a dedicated, locked room with plywood termination
fields on two walls be used. The TIA-569-B standard recommends the
number of plywood termination fields, based on the square footage of
the building.

TIA-569-C
This standard specifies requirements for
telecommunications pathways and spaces.
The entrance facility and the equipment room may share
space if this is required or possible. Telephone companies
often define to the entrance facility as the demarcation point.
Some entrance facilities are also used for PBX (private
branch exchange) and telephone equipment.

A private branch exchange is a telephone system within

an enterprise that switches calls between users on local lines,
while enabling all users to share a certain number of external
phone lines.