What is the most common form of networking cable?

The most common form of networking cable is twisted pair cable, which is the selected answer. Twisted pair cables are widely used for both wired home and office networking due to their cost-effectiveness, ease of installation, and good performance over short distances. They consist of pairs of wires twisted together, which helps reduce electromagnetic interference and crosstalk, enabling better signal quality.

Twisted pair cables come in two main categories: unshielded (UTP) and shielded (STP). UTP is particularly popular for everyday networking needs, such as Ethernet cables, which are prevalent in local area networks (LANs). Their prevalence is largely due to their capability to support various network speeds and standards, including the frequently used 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet.

While coaxial and optical fiber cables are also used in networking, coaxial is less common for general networking purposes today, often found in specific applications like cable television. Optical fiber, on the other hand, is used mainly for high-speed data transmission over long distances but is not as ubiquitous for everyday local networking when compared to twisted pair cables. Copper cables refer to a broader category that includes twisted pair and coaxial cables, but when specifying a form that is most widely used