Being a tech geek has its perks; one dives deeper into everything to have a better understanding of the products. When it comes to networking, you should always keep yourself abreast of the latest happenings to have a better understanding. So, if this question pops up in your mind, what is cat5e riser cable and why is it more expensive than cat5e Pvc cables, then stop wondering anymore. We have got answers!

What is Cat5e Riser Cable?

The cat5e riser cable is the successor to cat5 cables; the latter comes with a data transfer rate of only 100Mbps with a bandwidth capacity of up t0 100MHz. However, cat5e cables entered the market and revolutionized the networking arena. These cables come with an impressive data transfer speed of 1Gbps with a bandwidth capacity of up to 350MHz.

As far as the composition of cat5e Riser is concerned, it comprises 8 conductors [either of pure copper or copper-clad aluminum]. These 8 conductors are twisted together in 4 pairs to give protection against crosstalk and to increase signal quality. Our cat5e riser cable runs 24AWG and can be installed in temperatures between 0 degrees Celsius to 60 degrees Celsius. These cables come in easy pull box packaging and meet all existing standards including FCC, CE, CSA, ISO/IES, and are RoHS compliant.

Moving on to cat5e PVC cable, these cables also have the same features. Now for obvious reasons, you will be wondering if all features are the same, then why cat5e riser cables are more expensive than PVC? Well, there’s one thing that sets both cables apart, and that gives riser-rated cables an edge over PVC cables.

Safety Standards:

As riser-rated cables are designed to be installed in riser spaces of the buildings, they have special insulation that has low flame and low smoke features. Cat5e Riser-rated cables are designed to be installed in air handling riser spaces of the buildings. As the risk of fire progression in air-handling areas is significantly higher, therefore, the material used in making jackets of cat5e riser cable is of the finest quality, and there’s no need to say that quality comes at a higher price tag. 

The jacket of these cables has fire-retardant capabilities. It means in a hapless event of fire eruption or fire progression, these cables act as fire retardants and halt fire progression. Therefore, cat5e cables are ideal to be installed in vertical spaces of your buildings. Furthermore, cat5e riser cables can bear harsh temperature conditions as low as -25 degrees Celsius and as high as 125 degrees Celsius. The thick coating of their jacket provides top-notch resistance against all kinds of chemicals. 

Now, moving to the PVC ethernet cables, they use low-quality PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) that does not provide any sort of protection against fire. As a matter of fact, its lowest quality jacket material burns with thick smoke and emits hazardous gases and further fire progression. 

Thanks to this jacket material, you can use cat5e riser cables in outdoor installations as a replacement/alternative to PVC cables, but they can’t be turned otherwise. We hope this detailed and in-depth analysis has answered your query: What is Cat5e Riser Cable and why is it more expensive than cat5e PVC cable?