Various Types of Networking Cables and their Uses The time's coming when wireless will completely take over, until then the cables are still the ruler. And you cannot do without the networking cables. As the name suggests, networking or network cables are cables that connect two or more networking devices. It could be your computer to the modem or a couple of computers connected to a printer network cables are required to carry out the functioning. Out of the many networking cables, the 4 common types of cables mainly used are Ethernet cable, patch cable, optical fiber cable and coaxial cable. Ethernet cable is the most popular network cable which connects devices on LAN like computers to routers or modems. Patch cables are short electrical networking cables. They transmit electric signals and are mostly use to connect PCs to switches etc. Coaxial cables on the other hand, are commonly used for transmitting signals to televisions and other electrical products with multiple bandwidth. HDMI cable used for HDTVs is a major example of coaxial cables. Optical fiber cable is as the name suggests cable with optical fibers which are made of glass or plastic and help and form a layer of protection around the signals. These also transmit high bandwidth signal like the coaxial ones. They are widely used in long distance transmission like in telecommunication. One may wonder, what is the difference between coaxial and optical fiber network cables as both transmit high bandwidth data. Both are highly popular and many people are ignorant of the differences of the two cables. Also, for a secure, hassle free connection, it's good for you to know the difference between the two cable. Specially for businesses it can make much difference as both their employees and other internal users along with the customers demand more bandwidth. Optical fiber networking cables can transmit more data and quicker than the regular copper wired cables because of the optical fiber that keep the signals secure. The data through these fibers travel as light and at a very high speed. The nature of the material - glass and plastic that are used to produce those fiber is such, that these fibers do not produce electromagnetic field, avoiding any noise or interference.
Coaxial cables also transmit data without interference because of the copper wires that act as insulators. Optical fiber cables work where more amount of data is to be transferred at longer distances. Coaxial cables are beneficial for those who receive more data and the outgoing data is less. “Hence your choice of network cables depends upon your requirements. keep in mind that fiber cables are more expensive than the coaxial ones. So choose according to your need and happy networking�