Telephone & Ethernet Cables
Telephone and Ethernet cables look alike, and both send and receive information. But the cables differ in many ways.
- ■ Ethernet cables, also called CAT cables, are wider than phone cables and contain eight wires. Phone cables are narrower and are made up of four wires.
- ■ Ethernet cables have a larger bandwidth than phone cables. Users can send and receive more data, at quicker speeds via Ethernet Cables. Phone cables have a smaller bandwidth and data takes longer to move across a network.
- ■ Phone cables are most often used for home telephone lines and for Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connections. Ethernet cables are typically used to interconnect computers and IP networks.
- ■ The end of the cable, called the plug, is rounder and thicker on an Ethernet cable. A phone plug is smaller and flat. The Ethernet plug is called an RJ45 while a phone plug is called an RJll.
