Looking at what is a data cable, what different types are there, and which should you choose for your installation

1. What is a data cable?
A data cable isa cable thatconnectstwo devicesforthe purpose of transferringdata.Datacables
can be brokendownintothree maintypes.
1. Twistedpaircabling.
2. Coaxial cabling.
3. Fibre opticcabling.
In thisblogpostwe will discusswhateachtype of data cable is andwhere theyare usedmostoften
by breakingthemdownintothese categories.
How to Choose the Right Category of Data Cable
There are a fewthingsyoushouldkeepinmindwhenchoosingthe rightcategoryof data cable:
1. The type and qualityof cablingisdeterminedbyitsperformance characteristics,suchas,
speedorpower.
2. Data cablesmustbe selectedbasedontheirintendeduse.Forexample,networkcablescan
vary dependingonhowmanyapplicationswill runover thematone time.You mayalso
needtoconsiderdistance limitations.
3. The most commonchoice isCopperCategoryCableswhichare made upof twistedpair
wirescoveredbyanoutersheath(shield).Twistedpairwire conductorsconsistof two
uninsulatedcopperwireswrappedaroundeachtominimize interference.Inaddition,4pairs
are containedina single cable.
4. The higherthe categorynumber(CAT),the greaterthe speedanddistance performance of
the cable.For instance,aCat 7 cable isfasterand can supportlongerdistancesthana Cat 6
cable.
TwistedPair Cabling
Twistedpaircablingisthe mostcommontype of data cable and ismade up of two insulatedcopper
wiresthatare twistedtogether.Thistype of cablingisusedinavarietyof applicationssuchashome
networks,office networksandevenaudio/videoapplications.The mostcommontypesof twisted
pair cablingare Cat cables.
1. Cat5e Cabling.
2. Cat6 Cabling.
3. Cat6a Cabling.
4. Cat7 Cabling.
5. Cat8 Cabling.
Cat-cable orCategorycable is the mostcommonlyusedandversatile type of coppercablingwhich
has beenproventobe extremelyreliable.ThiscategorywasfirstintroducedasCat5in 1995 by
the ElectronicIndustriesAlliance (EIA).The standardforCat cablesare regularlyupdated,buttheir
name alwaysremainsconsistent.The categoryisusuallyratifiedtothe performance the cable is
capable of overa setdistance of 90 metresof a permanentlink.

2. ShieldedTwistedPairCables
Twistedpaircablesare alsoavailable withspecial shielding,whichcanhelpminimizeinterference
fromotherdevicessuchas microwavesandcell phones.Thesetypesof shieldedcable are referred
to as STP (shieldedtwistedpair) categorycables.
Shieldeddatacablesare typicallyusedinsituationswherethe cablingneedsadditional protection
fromEMI (Electrical MagneticInterference) andRFI(Radiofrequencyinterference).
Thistype of cablingisoftenusedinindustrial ormedical settingswhere there isagreaterriskfor
noise andinterference.Shieldedcableshave ametal foil orbraidshieldaroundthe conductorsto
helpreduce unwantedsignals.
Coaxial Cabling
Coaxial cablingconsistsof one copperwire thatsurroundsanotherinsulatedcopperwire.Thistype
of data cable isusedmainlyinvideoapplicationssuchasCCTV,securitysystemsandsatelliteTV
installations.Coaxial cablinghasa higherbandwidthcapacitythantwistedpaircabling.
Coaxial cablingisatype of data cable that usesan innerconductorsurroundedbyaninsulating
layer,coveredbya braidedshield andfinallycoveredbyanoutersheath.Thistype of cablingisused
inhome cable servicesandbusinessnetworks.
Categoriesforcoax cablesare dividedintotwo:
1. - FoamPolyethyleneInsulation(FoamedPE).
2. - HighDensityPolyethyleneInsulation(HDPE).
Usesfor Coaxial cabling include
Data Centres,telephone andcable TV systems,andlarge scale mobilephone boosterinstallations.
Fibre Optic Cabling
Data cablescan alsobe made up of fibre opticcabling.Thistype of data cable isa glassor plastic
core withan insulatinglayersurroundedbyultravioletlighttransmittingfibresthatare coveredin
protective materials.
Optical fibre cablesworklargelythe same waythatnormal twistedpaircablesdoexceptforone key
difference.Insteadof sendingelectrical signalsdownthe wire theysendlightpulsesthroughan
optical glasstube,otherwiseknownasanoptical core.These signal cantravel tensof thousands
kilometres.
The main advantage tousingfibre opticcablesovercopperishigherbandwidthswhichallow for
large amountsof data transferat highspeedswithoutthe needforrepeaters.Thisisbecause they
have multi-gigabitcapacities.These signalsdon'tdegrade asmuchoverlongdistances.There are
lessdistance limitationsonfibre opticscomparedtocopperdatacables.
Common usesof data cables
Nowthat we have discussedwhateachtype of data cable is,let'stake a lookat where theyare used
mostcommonly.
Twistedpaircablingisbyfar the most populartype of data cable.It can be foundina varietyof
applicationssuchashome networks,office networksandevenaudio/videoapplications.Coaxial

3. cablingismainlyusedforvideoapplications.Itcanbe foundinproductssuch as televisionsand
videoplayers.Fibre opticcablingisthe mostadvancedtype of data cable.Itis oftenusedinhigh-
speedapplicationssuchasnetworking,telecomsanddatacentres.
Is Ethernetand data cable the same?
No.EthernetandData cablingisnotthe same thing,althoughtheyare closelyrelatedtoeachother
interms of function.
Ethernetwasdevelopedasa methodforconnectingdifferenttypesof devicestogetherona
networksuchas computers,printers,routers,etc...Howeverdatacableswere designedtoconnect
these variousEthernetdevicestogether. Thisisachievedbysendingelectrical signalsdownthe wire
at highspeedsthatallowitto sendinformationquicklybetweenthem(e.g1000Mbps).
Data CablesSummary
Whenselectingcategorycablingitisimportanttoknow whichtype will workbestforyourneeds.If
youhave any questionsorneedhelpchoosingthe righttype of data cable please don'thesitate to
give uscall.
Hopefullythisblogposthasgivenyouabetterunderstandingof whata data cable isand the
differenttypesthatare available.Staytunedforournextpostwhichwill discussdatacablesand
associatedservicesinmore detail.
About NM CablingSolutions - NetworkCabling Specialist
NMCablingisa technologyandstructuredcablingintegratorworkingthroughoutthe United
Kingdom.
We have createda comprehensive KnowledgeCentre forourindustrywhichcanbe viewed
at https://www.nmcabling.co.uk/knowledge-centre/