Flammability Ratings for Balanced Copper Cables
Many end users understand the value of a consistent network cable infrastructure for their organizations. While this is often difficult enough to maintain across multiple sites in a single country or region, it can pose a much different challenge crossing international borders as companies expand globally. Once the performance (category 5e, 6, 6A, etc.) and construction (UTP, F/UTP, etc.) is selected, the next logical consideration that must be made on a site-by-site basis is the selection of cable jacketing requirements.
Today’s cable jacket ratings for network cabling incorporate a wide range of terms, some of which may be more common than other depending upon location: CMX, CM, CMG, CMR, CMP, FT4, FT6 and LS0H. Each of these has a specific purpose and has an associated cost variance. The intent of this article is to provide a brief overview of each rating and the environments in which they are intended for use.