Shielded Twisted Pair and Unshielded Twisted Pair are two kinds of cabling used for computer network connections or peripherals. Unshielded twisted pair cable is also known as UTP. The cable consists of 4 wires. The pairs are color-coded with colors related to the respective wires. This cable is used in telephone networks and ethernet LANs almost everywhere, as it is cheap and easy to install. A shielded twisted pair cable is also known as an STP cable. In this case, shielded refers to a copper braid around the cables. This prevents interference or signal loss when it comes in contact with other such cables or metallic objects.