Ethernet cable connects your computer to the internet and it is the most common way through which computers and network devices communicate with each other. These cables are needed for creating home or business network connections. An Ethernet cable is used to connect a Wi-Fi router or modem to the internet entry point which is usually the telephone line. Then another Ethernet cable is connected to the computer to access the internet. Wi-Fi is also like an Ethernet cable but without any wires. It connects devices to the Wi-Fi router/modem wirelessly to allow them access to the internet.
If you are looking to buy an Ethernet cable for your internet connection, some internet service providers do supply the cable wire to consumers. Xfinity internet deals provide all equipment that comes as part of the package, which includes Ethernet cable along with coax cable, power cord, coax splitter, adapter, and such.
Ethernet cable
A single Ethernet cable is made up of four copper wires that are twisted together, from which two of the pairs are used to send data and the other two are used to receive data. There are different types of Ethernet cables, all of them varying in speeds.
- Cat5 Ethernet cable has a speed of over 10/100Mbps for 100m and supports a bandwidth of 100MHz. It is the oldest Ethernet cable ever made and it is no longer recognized as a standard one.
- Cat5e is an updated version of cat5 cable, with a speed of 1000Mbps for 100m and it is known to be ten times faster than Cat5. Cat5e is still widely used in the markets today.
- Cat6 is a faster cable that can handle gigabit speed with 250MHz bandwidth. It is of two kinds with a download speed of 1000Mbps for 10m wire and 10Gbps for 55m respectively. Cat6 has better insulation and thinner wires and it is made to be suitable for an environment with high electromagnetic interference.
- Cat6a has a data transmission speed of 10Gbps with a bandwidth up to 500MHz and the distance used for this cable is 100m which is longer than the cat6 cable of 55m. It is an ideal cable for the industrial situation but not for homes.
- Cat7 has the same speed and size as cat6a (10Gbps for 100m) but it offers a bandwidth of 600MHz.
- Cat8 Ethernet cable has 25/40Gbps speed for a 20m wire cable with bandwidth around 2000MHz. It is the fastest Ethernet cable and it is suitable for data centers while connecting equipment such as servers to switch, rather than an office environment.
For home connection, a cat5e or cat6 cable would work and it will not make a difference in how fast your website loads since the internet speed depends on many factors and not just the Ethernet cable. But there are some places like data centers that have high requirements for information transmission speed and they need to use upgraded versions of Ethernet cables for smooth flow of transmission.
Fiber Optic Internet Connection
Fiber optic internet connection, as the name suggests, is carried over wires that are made up of optical fibers material, instead of copper wires that traditional internet cables are made of. Data is transmitted through the wires in the form of beams of lights using binary coding. It is the fastest method to have revolutionized the way data is transmitted from one computer to another. The speed of a fiber optic internet connection is around 2Gbps or more and it delivers the same speed for both downloading and uploading.
Fiber Optic Cable
Fiber Optic cables are specially designed to carry the weight of a fiber internet connection. There are two major types of fiber optic cables: single-mode and multi-mode. Single-mode fiber optic cable is thinner than the multi-mode fiber optic cable and it uses laser lights to send signals. Multi-mood fiber optic cable uses light-emitting diodes to send and receive signals and it is usually used over small distances. It is also cheaper than the single-mode cable and carries 10Gbps over a distance of 600m. Single-mode fiber optic cable has a transmission capacity of over 100Gbps.
Older Ethernet for fiber optic internet connection
In conclusion, if you are considering using an older Ethernet cable for a fiber internet connection, it will not be possible because the older Ethernet cables simply do not have the transmission speed needed to carry a fiber internet connection. However, the Ethernet cable of cat5e or newer is capable of doing the job: it can carry 1Gbps or more of fiber internet connection at their specified lengths.
