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B U Y E R ' S G U I D E

UTP Cabling Options

October 15, 2001
By Lee Badman

Cat 5e or Fiber?

Although fiber optic premise wiring products are gaining broader penetration into the network, the required interfaces that directly support fiber NICs, switches and other devices still are beyond the budgetary reach of many enterprises.

Now that 10/100 RJ-45 NICs are practically free when bundled with new PCs and servers, it's hard to justify spending double (or more) for fiber components. Labor costs associated with fiber installation and testing usually exceed those associated with UTP, as well. Fiber may have a solid hold in the backbone, but until desktop interfaces come down in price significantly, it'll be hard to lure IT managers away from UTP networks.