What Everybody Ought to Know About Outdoor Ethernet Cable

Occasionally, it's necessary to run an Ethernet cable outside. These are the common scenarios:

Outdoor Wi-Fi access points

To connect two or more distinct structures

Outdoor IP based (Internet Protocol) surveillance cameras

When it comes to selecting or choosing outdoor Ethernet cable, it's important to consider a variety of outdoor conditions. Exposure to sunlight, moisture, snow and rain are just a few potential environmental factors that must be taken into account. Additionally, care must be taken to consider the potentially extended temperature range and occasional impact or stress during transportation, installation, and operation.

General Suitability of Outdoor Ethernet Cable

General outdoor suitability is a product that withstands sunlight, moisture, snow and rain. For a clearer awareness of the protection associated to a general outdoor suitable product, here are additional insights on what is meant by resistance to:

Sunlight: The Ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of the sunlight is the main concern as it tends to damage the properties of the cable sheath (jacket). The jacket material shall therefore be resistant to UV. UV resistance can be tested by exposing the material or cable to an artificial UV source for a length of time (like UL1581).

Resistance to moisture and rain: LDPE jacket materials can withstand rain and moisture provided the jacket is allowed to dry on time.

Temperature: The outdoor ethernet cables cannot be operated outside its specified range. Therefore, a wire or cable shall be selected having a temperature rating that covers the expected installation and operational needs. The following considerations are critical for ensuring the integrity of a cable.

Low temperature: The cable shall be able to withstand at least a typical bend occurring during installation and operation at the lowest temperature.

High temperature: The main concern here is that high operating or storage temperatures accelerate the aging of the wire or cable. This can lead to brittleness, and cracking of the sheath or insulation. High temperature can be caused either by general air temperature of the area, local temperature for instance cause by the heat of the sun and heating up through resistance heating of the cable itself (typically +10°C).

Note on indoor installation: typically -20°C to 60°C is generally recommended for indoor cable when installed in semi-open constructions within a “moderate” climate.

Shielded vs. Unshielded Outdoor Ethernet Cable

Cable shielding has two main functions. One is to protect against interference from electromagnetic and radio frequency sources that are abundant, which you're probably aware of. The second function is to provide a grounding path, which is essential not only for dissipating EMI/RFI but also for safely discharging electrostatic discharge (ESD). Any outdoor Ethernet cable that is subject to air movement outside, especially when it is suspended in the air, is going to generate ESD - period. Your network devices can be shielded from damage with a cable shield that is correctly grounded. No, lightning will not be warded off. Lightning will light you and your cable up, and there is no way around that other than also inserting lightning surge protections into the cable run. That is the only option for settings and installations with a high risk of lightning strikes.

Unshielded cable can be used in direct burial scenarios where electrical runs underground are not close by. Your data cable will be grounded out by the dirt itself. You can also utilize unshielded direct burial cable if you know exactly what kind of environment it is in and it is connected to a single structure (similar to beneath a house's soffit or along its siding). ESD build-up and resultant equipment damage is a possibility, but a remote one.

Dealing with Direct-Burial Scenarios

A frequent inquiry we receive is "Does using conduit beneath the ground offer advantages over direct burial?" Given that Ethernet cable for direct burial is designed for such use, you can indeed bury it directly without the need for conduit. In fact, direct burial is actually superior to putting it into a conduit as conduit will allow water in over time (especially PVC). Simply bury the cable without conduit at least 10" down if you live in an area where the frost line is only 3". This will protect it from mechanical damage caused by shovels and other similar tools. In regions where frost lines are measured in feet, the cycle of freezing and thawing can wreak havoc on PVC conduit. Take into account that when a conduit filled with water freezes, the expansion will have no outlet, potentially damaging your subterranean cabling installation. In such a case, the optimal approach would be to lay Ethernet cable directly underground at a depth of 18 to 24 inches, placed over a couple of inches of pea gravel, which aids in water drainage. FS offer outdoor cat6 cable and cat5e outdoor cable. Explore more about outdoor direct burial cable from the chart below:

Category	Cat5e	Cat5e	Cat6	Cat6
Shielding	U/UTP	F/UTP	U/UTP	F/UTP
AWG	24	24	23	23
Lengths (m)	305	305	305	305
Insulation Material	HDPE	HDPE	HDPE	HDPE
Outer Jacket Material	LDPE	LDPE	LDPE	LDPE
Inner Jacket Material	PVC	PVC	PVC	PVC
UV Protection	√	√	√	√
Operating Temperature	-40 to 75°C (-40 to 167°F)	-40 to 75°C (-40 to 167°F)	-40 to 75°C (-40 to 167°F)	-40 to 75°C (-40 to 167°F)
Data Rate Support	10/100/1000Base-T	10/100/1000Base-T	10/100/1000Base-T and Maximum to 10GBase-T	10/100/1000Base-T and Maximum to 10GBase-T