When you are about to install phone or network wiring, it’s inevitable to face up to the question—Which network cable should I choose? There are three main network cables: Fiber optic cables, twisted pair cables and coaxial cables. Do you know the difference among them? This article will shed light on the characteristics of the three cables and the differences you should know about them.

What Is Fiber Optic Cable?

Fiber optic cable, also known as optical fiber cable, is made up of a varying number of thin strands of optically pure glass fibers, from a few to several hundred. There are two types of fiber optic cables that are commonly used: Single mode fiber (SMF) and multimode fiber (MMF).

With a smaller diametral core, SMF provides a higher bandwidth than MMF. The small core and single light-wave result in less signal attenuation and higher transmission speed and allow data to travel farther. SMF cables are typically used in universities, colleges, CATV companies and so on. While MMF cables are typically used for relatively short distance, data and audio or video applications in LANs. On the one hand, fiber optic cables have a much greater bandwidth and longer transmission distances with low power loss. On the other hand, fiber optic cables have some drawbacks. They are more expensive to install and difficult to splice than the other two cables.

What Is Twisted Pair Cable?

Twisted pair cable is a type of copper cable made by putting two separate insulated wires together in a twisted pattern and running them parallel to each other. Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a, Cat7 and Cat8 are the most commonly used types of twisted pair cables in the market now. As the least expensive type of LAN cable, it’s commonly used in almost every home, VoIP telephony and small or middle enterprise LANs. Compared to other form of cable, it’s not only the cheapest but easy to handle and install. However, it’s limited in distance, bandwidth and data transmission speed. Depending on whether there is a foil or mesh shield outside the cables, twisted pair cables are divided into two types: Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) and shielded twisted pair (STP).

As the name suggests, UTP cable means there is no shield and the wires just twist together while STP cable is enclosed in a metal shield. Compared to STP cables, UTP cables are less difficult to install as cables are smaller, lighter and more flexible. What’s more, UTP cables are cheaper to purchase than STP cables. Of the two twisted pair cables, UTP cable is the most commonly used for Ethernet connections. However, it’s better to choose STP if it’s in areas of high electromagnetic or radio interference. Though UTP cables reduce some EMI, STP cables work more efficiently to block interference. Therefore, STP cables are the better choice for high-speed networks.

What Is Coaxial Cable?

Coaxial cable, or coax is a type of heavy electrical cable that has an inner copper core surrounded by a tubular insulating layer, outside of which is a tubular conducting shield. Coaxial cable is insusceptible to electromagnetic interference and provides a higher bandwidth compared with twisted pair cable, but it have some disadvantages. For example, it’s bulky, expensive to install for longer distance and must be grounded to prevent interference. It is commonly used to deliver TV signals and to connect computers in a network by cable operators, telephone companies, and internet providers around the world. Depending on the diameter, coaxial cables can be divided into thinnet cable and thicknet cable.

Thinnet coaxial cable is connected using special connectors and requires to be terminated at each other. Thicknet coaxial cable is similar in construction to thinnet, however, there is an additional layer of aluminium insulation. Thicknet cable is expensive and difficult to work with but able to expand distances of up to 500 meters while thinnet coaxial cable is much thinner and flexible and it can span distances of up to 185 meters.

Which Network Cable to Use?

All of these three network cables are useful in certain areas and all of them hold their distinct advantages as well as disadvantages. Which is the best to choose depends on several factors, such as speed, bandwidth, cost, etc.

Both twisted pair cable and coaxial cable’s transmission of signals take place in the electrical form, only fiber optic cable transmit signals in an optical form, which makes fiber optic cable carries data at a much faster speed and wider bandwidth than the other cables. What’s more, coaxial cable should be used for short distance because signal losses are higher in it with longer distance than the other two. By contrast, the distance fiber optic cable carries data can be up to 500m as the farthest.

Generally, the installation of fiber optic cable is high because there are other optical components involved in the installation, especially optical transceivers while twisted pair cable is the most cost-effective one of the three choices. The cost of coaxial cable is higher than twisted pair cable. However, the price of the cables varies from supplier to supplier.

Professional equipment and skills are needed when installing fiber optic cable, therefore making it difficult for users. Furthermore, fiber optic cable requires extra care and effort once installed. Compared with optical fiber, coaxial cable enjoys the advantage of more convenient installment. In comparison between coaxial cable and twisted pair cable, twisted pair cables are much faster to install.

Coaxial cable is used in cable TV connections, digital audio and also used by telephone companies. While twisted pair cable, the oldest and cheapest type of cable, remains in use throughout by telecommunications companies. As fiber has higher and faster data transfer than other types, it is usually used for professional networks such as data centers, enterprise network, commercial fields, medical treatment and even military field.

Conclusion

In sum, it’s inappropriate to judge which type is the best to use without considering application before selecting the cables. Hope you’re able to figure out the differences between these three cable types and find the type that’s just right for your current network setup. To get more information about types of cables, visit our website www.fs.com and contact us if you have any questions.