Structured cabling standards are used internationally and are published by ISO/IEC. Additionally, Building Industry Consulting Service International is the main certifier of structured cabling installers and plays a major role along with industry leaders in developing and designing standards.

Structured cabling design and installation is governed by a set of standards that specify wiring data centers, offices, and apartment buildings for data or voice communications using various kinds of cable, most commonly category 5e (CAT-5e), category 6 (CAT-6), and fibre optic cabling and modular connectors.

These standards define how to lay the cabling in various topologies in order to meet the needs of the customer, typically using a central patch panel (which is normally 19 inch rack-mounted), from where each modular connection can be used as needed. Each outlet is then patched into a networkswitch (normally also rack-mounted) for network use or into an IP or PBX (private branch exchange) telephone system patch panel.