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DTECH Articles

30/03/2026

Fibre Optic Cable Construction: Tight Buffered vs Loose Tube

Tight buffered and loose tube are the two fundamental fibre optic cable constructions. Every fibre backbone cable — whether multimode or single mode, internal or external, four fibre or forty-eight...

23/03/2026

Why Copper Clad Data Cable Fails — and Why Pure Copper is the Only Specification Worth Installing

CCA — copper-clad aluminium — is one of the most persistent problems in the structured data cabling industry. It is sold as Cat5e, Cat6, and Cat6A cable at prices that...

16/03/2026

Internal vs External Data Cable: What’s the Difference and How to Choose

One of the most common specification errors in structured cabling installations is using standard internal cable on a route that passes outside — through an external wall, across a roof,...

09/03/2026

The Complete Guide to Cat6 Data Cable: Speed, Distance, PoE and When to Upgrade

Cat6 is the current baseline standard for commercial and enterprise network cabling. Introduced in 2002 and formalised under TIA/EIA-568-C.2 and ISO/IEC 11801, it replaced Cat5e as the recommended horizontal cabling...

02/03/2026

OM4 vs OM5 Fibre: What’s the Difference and Which Should You Specify

When OM5 was introduced in 2016 it generated considerable interest — a new multimode fibre grade promising wideband capability, more data over fewer fibres, and a clear upgrade path beyond...

16/02/2026

What is a Keystone Jack and How Does It Affect Network Performance?

A keystone jack is one of the smallest components in a structured cabling installation and one of the most consequential. It is the modular connector that terminates the permanent horizontal...

09/02/2026

What is a Patch Panel: Why They Matter and How to Choose

A patch panel is one of those components that is easy to overlook when planning a network — it does not switch, route, or process data, and to the uninitiated...

02/02/2026

What is Structured Cabling: A Complete Guide for IT Managers and Installers

Structured cabling is the term for a building's permanent telecommunications wiring infrastructure — the cables, outlets, patch panels, and distribution equipment that form the physical foundation every networked device in...