Cat5e UTP cables do not have shielding and only have plastic insulation around the wires, while Cat5e FTP cables have a metal foil shield around the twisted pairs and an outer plastic sleeve. The foil shield in Cat5e FTP cables provides extra protection from electromagnetic interference and crosstalk. While standard Cat5e cables are suitable for most installations, Cat5e FTP cables should be used in areas with high levels of electrical interference like data centers, industrial buildings, and medical facilities, as the foil shielding helps prevent signal disruption from outside interference sources.

1. Cat5e FTP vs UTP
UTP stands forUnshieldedTwistedPair,while FTPstandsforFoiledTwistedPair.Howeverhow do
we compare Cat5e FTP vs UTP?
UTP cablesdo not have anyshielding.Theyjusthave singleplasticsleeve insulationaroundthe
wires.Howeveronthe otherhand,FTPcableshave a metal shieldaroundall pairstogetherandthen
the outerplasticsleeve insulation.
The Cat5e FTP categorygivesan extrasecurityshield.Therefore the twistedpairsof Cat5e cable
wireshave foil securityaroundthem.Furthermore thisfoil furtherprotectsthe wiresfromEMIand
crosstalk.
Cat5e cables - general outline
Cat5e cablescan transmitdata at the speedof 100 Mbit/s over100 meters.Inadditionthis
allowance isusuallyfora90m permanentcable linkandan allowance for5mpatch leadseachend
Cat5e inall formatscontainfour twistedpairs.Generallyunliketheirhighercategorycounterparts
such as Cat6, Cat7 and Cat8 theyhave noadditional separationinsidethe cable betweenpairs
Cat5e wasthe firstmajorstandardfor data cablinginstallationwithinastructuredcablingdesign.In
additionwithitsabilitytohandle 1Gigabittrafficitwas a suitable choice forvarioushardware uses.
These systemsincludedcomputers,telephones,CCTV,WiFi,accesscontrol andmanyothers
HoweverinmanymoderninstallationsCAT6,Cat6a,and evenCat7cablesare beingusedasa
substitute forCAT5e.Theyofferbettercrosstalkprotectionandhelptoworkat more than 1Gbps
speed.Cat6aand beyondare nowthe standard fornew installationsdue totheirabilitytotransmit
10 Gigabitat 90 /100m. InadditionCat7 andCat8 are commonindata centre environmentsandin
some commercial andresidential datacablinginstallations
Featuresof Cat5e
 Theyformpart of a structuredcablingdesign
 These cablesare ratedfor 100MHz High-SpeedDataApplications
 The cable is capable of GigabitEthernet
 Theyconsistof 4 pairsof colouredcores
 Category5e wiresare consideredascost-effective cables.
 The highestcable lengthis90 or 100 meters.
o 90m permanentcable lengthplusapairof 5m patch leads
o 100m directhardware to hardware link
Where wouldstandard Cat5e cablesbe used
For the majorityof installationsCat5e cableswouldbe specifiedatstandardCat5e cables.
Furthermore these wouldbe specifiedasinall new installationasCPRcompliantcables.
CPR regulationsare there toensure the correctcablesare installedwithregardstofire andsafety.In
additionthisensuresthatthe cablesare safe incase of a fire.Furthermore thisappliestoall cable
categoriesregardlessif theyare Cat5e,Cat6,Cat7 or Cat8. Alsothe same for UTP and FTP.

2. Where wouldCat5e FTP be used
What do ShieldedCablesDo?
The main advantage of shieldedCat5e andothercablesisthat theyinsulate the innercoresfrom
electrical interference.Inadditiontheyprotectfromall elementsof EMIor electromagnetic
interference.
EMI are electrical interference'sthatare naturallyfoundinthe outside worldandoutsideyour
cablinginstallation.
These interference'scaninclude
 Natural EMI suchas lightning,stormsandnatural electrical charges
 Electrical equipmentinterference
 Omissionsfromelectronicequipment
o Powerlines
o WiFi
o Mobile Phones
o Microwaves
 Generators
 Lighting
 Electrical installations
Shielded cablesalsoincreasethe protectionof noisefromotherdatacablesor evenwithinitsown
cable.Crosstalkisthe disruptionof the signal of the cable fromeitherthe othercoresinside the
same cable or from otherdata cablesinthe installation.External crosstalkisknownasalien
crosstalk.
WhenshouldI use Shieldeddatacables
Followingonfromlistingabove where electrical interference isfoundthese naturallyare areas
where shieldedcanbe consideredasasuitable upgrade toshieldeddatacabling
These are areas where electrical interference andEMIare boundto be high
These buildingsorsituationsmayinclude the following
 Data Centres
 Warehouses(especiallyindustrial)
 Travel centerssuchas train stationsandairports
 Industrial buildingswhere large electrical elementsare found
 DistributionCentres
 Medical Buildings

3. The preferredcable specificationwillalwaysdependonthe situationandthe areaof installation.
Furthermore itwill be basedon the surroundinginstallationsandotherservices
About NM CablingSolutions - NetworkCabling Specialist
NMCablingisa technologyandstructuredcablingintegratorworkingthroughoutthe United
Kingdom.
We have createda comprehensive KnowledgeCentre forourindustrywhichcanbe viewed
at https://www.nmcabling.co.uk/knowledge-centre/