FAQs
Is shielded cabling better than unshielded?
Shielded or screened cabling can provide increased immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI) compared with unshielded cabling. This may be most relevant when considering the effects of alien crosstalk on 10GBASE-T operation or cases of noisy electrical environments, such as those often found in manufacturing.
Shielding may also reduce electromagnetic emissions from copper cabling, but with the typical use of balanced signalling this is usually of little relevance.
Earthing or grounding of such cabling systems is critical – if it is not done correctly then problems with transmission may be introduced and these can be difficult to diagnose and rectify.
Fibre optic cabling may provide a solution where immunity to EMI is important.