Today we already know that if someone 20-30 years ago felt that the Internet would be a "big thing", they were right.
However, only few seem to have assumed that the Internet would have such a strong impact on industry and the private sector.
In case of industrial applications, the currently evolving "Single Pair Ethernet" (SPE) technology is even more advantageous. It is mainly due to the simplification of installation and significant space and cable costs savings.
Despite the rise of wireless technology, wired installations have their advantages and they still remain a major pillar for data communications, especially in industry.
Construction of data cables can be made of solid conductors as well as stranded ones. Solid core cables are suitable especially for fixed installations. Cables with a stranded construction are much more flexible and are especially suitable for flexible installations, production of patch cables and the like.
Thanks to the Internet being used at work and also at home, perhaps everyone has at least heard acronyms used for cables, such as UTP or FTP. However, the use of the same acronym referring to quite different cables can frequently be seen especially in various articles, blogs, Internet discussions and elsewhere.
Let’s have a brief recap of the meaning and differences between the individual cables, as it is defined in ISO/IEC 11801:2002. An explanation of the nomenclature, as well as a clear table, will certainly be of help.
U/UTP
Cable without any shielding (Unscreened), only with twisted pairs (Twisted Pair - TP).
It is a common unscreened cable called a UTP cable. At the same time, it is the simplest version of a twisted pair cable. Its disadvantage is, of course, lower resistance to external interference, as well as higher self-radiation of the cable to the surroundings. This version of the cable is still sufficient in many applications, but from a perspective point of view, it is safer to use cables with at least some form of shielding for new installations. Especially when the price difference between U/UTP and F/UTP is not very significant today.
F/UTP (FTP)
Cable completely shielded by conductive foil (Foil - F) with mutually unshielded twisted pairs (UTP). This cable is very similar to the basic UTP cable with the addition of foil, mainly aluminum, under the main plastic sheath of the cable.
Another common name for this type is also FTP cable. These cables are common in 10GBaseT applications. When comparing FTP vs UTP, F/UTP (i.e., FTP) is definitely winning, since the U/UTP cable has no shielding. As we have already mentioned, the price difference is very small. Therefore, if you don't need kilometres of cables, the F/UTP (FTP) version will definitely be a better option. Although the primary function of the shielding foil is electrical functionality, i.e., shielding, its small secondary advantage is that it makes the cable a bit more mechanically resistant.