Twisted pair cable, fiber optic cable and coaxial cable are

  three major types of network cables used in modern communication systems. These

  cables mainly differ from one another in terms of latency, speed of data

  transfer and overall security.

  What Is Twisted Pair Cable?

  Twisted pair cable

  is a type of cable in which two independently insulated conductors of a single

  circuit are twisted together for the purposes of reducing crosstalk and electromagnetic

  induction. There are two types of twisted pair cables: Shielded and unshielded twisted pair cable. Shielded Twisted pair

  cable has a fine wire mesh surrounding the wires to protect the transmission

  whereas Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable is not surrounded by a fine mesh. Twisted Pair cable is used by older telephone

  networks and is the least expensive type of local area network (LAN) cable.

  Twisted Pair Cable

  What You Need To

  Know About Twisted Cable

  Twisted Pair cable is a kind of wiring in which

  two conductors of a single circuit are twisted together. A pair of wires forms

  a circuit that can transmit data.Common types of twisted pair Ethernet cable

  include: Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) and Shielded Twisted Pair (STP). Transmission of signals takes place in the

  electrical form over metallic conducting wire.Twisted pair cable can be affected due to

  external magnetic field.Twisted pair cable is made up of a pair of

  insulated copper wire.Twisted pair cables are comparatively low in

  price when compared to both Coaxial and Fiber optical cables.Though twisted pair cables is designed to reduce

  noise from outside sources, it is usually not effective in rejecting this noise

  (noise is unwanted electrical or electromagnetic energy that degrades the

  quality of signals and data).Attenuation is very high.Installation and implementation of twisted pair

  cables is simple and easy.Low Bandwidth.The security of transmitted signal is not

  guaranteed.Twisted pair cables are generally used in

  telephone networks, data networks and cable shielding.Twisted pair cable can transmit television,

  telephone and data at a relatively low speed when compared to fiber optical

  cable.Twisted pair cables are copper-based wire

  surrounded by insulation with other materials. Therefore they are larger in

  diameter than fiber optical cables.Twisted pair cables are heavier in weight when

  compared to fiber optical cables.Loss is also another factor that can

  differentiate between coaxial, fiber optical and twisted pair cables. Loss is

  defined by decibels per unit length and at a given frequency. Thus, the longer

  the coaxial cable, the greater the loss. Some of the loss that occurs in

  twisted pair cables include: Resistive loss, Dielectric loss, Radiated loss and

  Loss over time.

  What Is Coaxial Cable?

  Coaxial cable,

  also referred to as coax cable is

  designed to transmit high-frequency signals. It is a type of copper cable

  specially built with a metal shield and other components engineered to block

  signal interference. It differs from other shielded cables because the

  dimension of the cable and connectors are controlled to give a precise,

  constant conductor spacing, which is needed for it to function efficiently as a

  transmission line.

  Coaxial cable is primarily used in telephone trunk-lines,

  broadband internet networking cables, high speed computer data busses, carrying

  cable television signals and connecting radio transmitters and receivers to

  their antennas.

  Coaxial Cable

  What You Need To

  Know About Coaxial Cable

  Coaxial cable is designed to transmit

  high-frequency signals. It is comprised of a round copper conductor and three

  layers of insulation and shielding which prevents crosstalk from motors,

  lighting and other sources of EMI.Common types of Coaxial cable mostly used in

  residential applications include: RG59 and RG6.Coaxial cable is used to transmit signal in

  electrical form over the inner conductor of the cable.Coaxial cable is less affected due to external

  magnetic field. Coaxial cable is made up of four components

  moving from inside to the outside: a solid conductor wire, a layer of

  insulation, a grounding conductor and a layer of exterior insulation.The cost of coaxial cables is higher than that

  of twisted pair cables.Due to its fabrication, coaxial cables are

  relatively good at rejecting noise when compared to twisted pair cables.Attenuation is low.Installation and implementation of coaxial cable

  is relatively difficult due to the dielectric insulator around the core copper

  in coaxial cable.Moderately high bandwidth.The security of transmitted signal is not

  guaranteed.Coaxial cables are used in feedlines connecting

  radio transmitters and receivers with their antennas, computer network

  (Internet) connections, digital audio (S/PDIF) and distributing cable

  television signals. They are also used in for high-definition media interface

  connections.Coaxial cable can transmit television, telephone

  and data at a relatively low speed when compared to fiber optical cable.Coaxial cables are copper-based wire surrounded

  by insulation with other materials. Therefore they are larger in diameter than

  fiber optical cables.Coaxial cables are heavier in weight when

  compared to fiber optical cables.Some of the loss that occurs in coaxial cables

  include: Resistive loss, Dielectric loss and Radiated loss.

  What Is Fiber Optic Cable?

  A fiber optic cable

  also referred to as optical fiber cable

  is a network cable that contains strands of glass fibers inside an insulated

  casing. All optical fibers use a core of hair-like transparent silicon covered

  with less refractive indexed cladding to avoid light leakage to the

  surroundings. They are designed for long distance, high-performance data

  networking and telecommunications. Fiber optic cable can be categorized into

  Single mode fiber (SMF) and Multimode fiber (MMF). Single-mode fiber uses

  extremely thin glass strands and a laser to generate light while Multi-mode

  optical cable uses LEDs. Due to the extreme sensitivity of the optical fiber,

  it is usually covered with a high-strength, lightweight protective material

  likes Kevlar.

  Fiber Optic Cable

  What You Need To

  Know About Fiber Optic Cable

  Fiber optic cable is a type of Ethernet cable

  which consist of one or more optic fibers that are used to transmit data.Fiber optic cable can be categorized into Single

  mode fiber (SMF) and Multimode fiber (MMF).Fiber optic cable transmits data as pulses of

  light go through tiny tubes of glass (Signal transmission takes place in light

  forms over a glass fiber).Fiber optical cable is never affected due to

  external magnetic field.Optical cables are made up of very thin optical

  fibers bundled together into a single cable. The fibers can be made of glass or

  plastic.In general, fiber optic cable is more expensive

  than copper cable due to its high performance and capacity.Optical fiber has highest noise immunity as the

  light rays are unaffected by the electrical noise.Attenuation is very much low.Installation and implementation of optical fiber

  is difficult. This is due to the fact that they are thin and fragile and

  therefore requires more care in installation.They have very high bandwidth when compared to

  coaxial and twisted pair cables; in this regard fiber optical cable offers a

  big benefit in terms of the flexibility of the bandwidth and reliability.There is increased security in fiber-optic

  technology and therefore it is hard to tap fiber-optic cables without also

  disrupting the system.Fiber optic cables are installed to support long

  distance connections between countries and cities. They are also used in data

  centers where large volume of data needs to be transmitted. Fiber optical cable can transmit television,

  telephone and data at a relatively faster speed when compared to twisted pair

  and coaxial cable.Fiber optical fiber cable is made of very thin,

  pliable tubes of glass or plastic and therefore it is small in diameter.Optical fiber cable is lighter in weight when

  compared to twisted pair and coaxial cables.Some of the loss that occurs in fiber optical

  cable include: Dispersion, bending, absorption and attenuation.

  16 Difference

  Between Twisted Pair, Coaxial Cable And Fiber Optic Cable In Tabular Form

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