page_title: Copper conductor
section_title: Twisted pair cable
hierarchical_section_title: Copper conductor / Applications / Communications wiring / Twisted pair cable
caption_attribution_description: English: Category 5e ethernet cable, showing the twisted pairs of copper wires.
context_page_description: Copper has been used in electrical wiring since the invention of the electromagnet and the telegraph in the 1820s. The invention of the telephone in 1876 created further demand for copper wire as an electrical conductor.
  Copper is the electrical conductor in many categories of electrical wiring. Copper wire is used in power generation, power transmission, power distribution, telecommunications, electronics circuitry, and countless types of electrical equipment. Copper and its alloys are also used to make electrical contacts. Electrical wiring in buildings is the most important market for the copper industry. Roughly half of all copper mined is used to manufacture electrical wire and cable conductors.
context_section_description: Twisted pair cabling is the most popular network cable and is often used in data networks for short and medium length connections (up to 100 meters or 328 feet). This is due to its relatively lower costs compared to optical fiber and coaxial cable.
  Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cables are the primary cable type for telephone usage. In the late 20th century, UTPs emerged as the most common cable in computer networking cables, especially as patch cables or temporary network connections. They are increasingly used in video applications, primarily in security cameras.
  UTP plenum cables that run above ceilings and inside walls use a solid copper core for each conductor, which enables the cable to hold its shape when bent.  Patch cables, which connect computers to wall plates, use stranded copper wire because they are expected to be flexed during their lifetimes.
  UTPs are the best balanced line wires available. However they are the easiest to tap into. When interference and security are concerns, shielded cable or fiber optic cable is often considered.
  UTP cables include: Category 3 cable, now the minimum requirement by the FCC (USA) for every telephone connection; Category 5e cable, 100-MHz enhanced pairs for running Gigabit Ethernet (1000Base-T); and Category 6 cable, where each pair runs 250 MHz for improved 1000Base-T performance.
  In copper twisted pair wire networks, copper cable certification is achieved through a thorough series of tests in accordance with Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) or International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards.
caption: Cat5e Ethernet cable, showing the twisted pairs of copper wires.
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