As technology advances each year, shielded category cables are becoming more commonly used for a variety of small to large scale projects. Although these are not always required, they are highly spec'd and suggested.
The "shield" on these cables act as a barrier to protect the signal integrity from electrical interference or, EMI and provides very little loss. There are a variety of acronyms that are commonly used. Before we get into the types of cables, its important to know what the letters mean. These acronyms were established by the ISO/IEC 11801 standard and adopted by TIA/EIA.
Figure 1: Category 7 Cable with S/FTP
Standard shielding abbreviations:
- TP = Twisted Pair
- U =Unshielded
- F = Foil Shield
- S= Braided Shield
The chart below indicates the acronyms commonly used for category cable shielding:
| Acronym | Cable Details | Cable Shield/Pair Shield |
| UTP or U/UTP | Unshielded twisted pairs | No Cable Shield/No Pair Shield |
| F/UTP | Overall foil shield | Foil Cable Shield/No Pair Shield |
| S/FTP | Each pair shielded w/ overall shielded braid | Tin Copper Braid Cable Shield/ Foil Pair Shield |
| U/FTP* | Each pair individually shielded | No Cable Shield/Foil Pair Shield |
| F/FTP* | Overall foil shield w/ each pair individually shielded | Foil Cable Shield/Foil Pair Shield |
| SF/UTP* | Overall foil shield w/ overall shielded Braid | Foil & Tin Copper Braid Cable Shield/Foil Pair Shield |
* Disclaimer: West Penn Wire does not carry U/FTP, F/FTP or SF/UTP cables
Want to learn more about our category cables? Check out our product videos or view more on our resource center or website!
