Neat. I love happy little surprise conveniences left by someone else! As someone who deals a lot in low-voltage stuff, i really like this one.
this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2025
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I've owned the place for a while and every now and then I'd notice the terminal blocks he had connected the wires to. It was also pretty cool that they used the same color conventions all those years ago. It encouraged me to look into the history of Ethernet wiring as well. 
The waxy stuff is part of how they manufactured the wire and works its way out over time.
Isn't that the gel filled data cable? The gel is there simply to prevent water ingress in installed cable, particularly under ground.
That’s my thought as well. Considering none of his is actually twisted pair, likely not “data” rated- just old multi-line POTS cabling…BUT- im pretty sure all exterior “burial” rated cable has always been filled with something for the purpose of preventing water ingress. I want to say icky-pick was a nickname for it?
Yeah it could be considered a gel. It feels like wax. What you're saying makes a lot of sense.
Yep, we still use it today
I feel like half the VOIP phone terminations I observed in businesses when I did that work looked similar to this, with just the essential pairs connected (fully untwisted) and the rest hanging off in the breeze.
Ethernet sometimes is a lot more robust than one would think 😌
But that's still is no excuse for the shoddy, bent rats nest of RJ 45 installations that some electricians leave behind in perfectly good conditions where they could have done better.