Cat8 Braided Flat Ethernet Cable: 40Gbps Shielded Long-Distance LAN Cord with Reinforced RJ45 Connectors
This LinkSup Cat8 braided flat Ethernet cable is designed for the runs that ordinary short patch cords cannot cover — the 10-metre pull from the router in the hallway to the gaming rig in the bedroom, the 20-metre drop from a switch cabinet to a shop-floor access point, the trunk between two racks in a comms room. It combines full Category 8 electrical performance (40 Gbps at 2000 MHz over a compliant channel) with a jacket and connector package built to survive being dragged, coiled, stepped on and re-terminated in the field. Choose the smooth flat PVC jacket when the cable has to lie under carpet or along a skirting board, or the black-and-white nylon-braided version when abrasion resistance and shelf appeal matter more than a low profile. Both are made in our own ISO9001 plant in Humen, Dongguan, and both are supported for OEM/ODM branding.
Engineered for Long-Distance Ethernet Runs
Length is where cheap network cable fails first. Insertion loss climbs, DC resistance unbalance grows, and copper-clad-aluminum conductors overheat when Power over Ethernet is applied. We build this cable with four pairs of 26AWG stranded oxygen-free copper — a heavier gauge than the 28AWG or 30AWG used in slim consumer cords — so a 20 or 30 metre run keeps its margin against the Category 8 loss budget and carries an 802.3bt 90 W load without excessive heat rise. The stranded construction also keeps the cable flexible at length, so it can be coiled for shipping and re-coiled on site without work-hardening the conductors the way solid-core cable would.
Braided Jacket vs. Smooth Flat Jacket
The nylon-braided variant wraps the flat core in a tightly woven polyester sleeve. That sleeve does three jobs: it resists abrasion when the cable is pulled across concrete, metal edges or carpet grippers; it dramatically improves tangle behaviour on 15 m and longer lengths; and it gives retail SKUs a premium, high-visibility appearance that photographs well on a marketplace listing. The smooth PVC flat jacket, at only 3.2 mm thick, is the choice for discreet installation — under carpet tiles, beneath a door, or taped along a baseboard where a round or braided cable would create a visible ridge. Both jackets are VW-1 flame retardant and available in LSZH for public buildings, transit projects and any tender that specifies low-smoke zero-halogen materials.
Shielding, Connectors and Field Durability
At 2000 MHz the physics leave no room for unshielded construction. Each of the four twisted pairs carries its own aluminium-mylar foil, and an overall tinned-copper braid encloses the bundle and bonds to a die-cast zinc-alloy RJ45 shell at both ends. That continuous shield path is what suppresses alien crosstalk between adjacent cords in a bundled tray and keeps interference from motors, ballasts and mains runs out of the link. The plugs carry 50-micron gold plating on phosphor-bronze contacts, rated for 750+ mating cycles, and the shell is laser-marked “CAT8” so an installer can identify the category at a glance months after commissioning. Over the shell sits a moulded anti-kink boot with an integrated latch guard — available in safety orange, black, blue, red or a customer Pantone — which both protects the fragile locking clip and allows colour-coded patching by VLAN, floor or service.
Technical Specifications
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Category / Standard | Cat8 (Category 8), ANSI/TIA-568.2-D, ISO/IEC 11801 Class I |
| Bandwidth | 2000 MHz |
| Data Rate | 40 Gbps (25G/40GBASE-T, 30 m channel); 10G at longer distances |
| Shielding | S/FTP (SSTP) — individually foiled pairs + overall braid |
| Conductor | 26AWG stranded 100% bare copper (28AWG optional) |
| Connector | RJ45 8P8C male–male, zinc-alloy shielded shell, 50U” gold plated, “CAT8” laser marked |
| Boot / Strain Relief | Moulded anti-kink boot with latch guard; orange / black / blue / red / custom |
| Jacket Options | Nylon-braided sleeve, flat PVC, LSZH, UV-resistant PE |
| Flat Cable Profile | 3.2 × 9.2 mm (braided version approx. 4.5 × 10 mm) |
| Standard Lengths | 5 m, 8 m, 10 m, 15 m, 20 m, 30 m (0.5–50 m custom) |
| Impedance | 100 Ω ± 15 Ω |
| Operating Temperature | −20 °C to +75 °C |
| PoE Support | IEEE 802.3af / at / bt (PoE, PoE+, PoE++ 90 W) |
| Wiring | T568B standard (T568A on request) |
| Compatibility | Cat7, Cat6A, Cat6, Cat5e equipment |
| Compliance | CE, RoHS, REACH, UL wire, VW-1, ISO9001, 100% Fluke tested |
| MOQ / Packaging | 100 pcs; velcro strap, poly bag, blister, colour box, private label |
Where This Cable Is Used
Long-length Cat8 is specified for router-to-console and router-to-PC gaming runs across a room or between floors, 10G NAS and workstation links in studios, PoE++ camera and Wi-Fi 6E/7 access-point drops, temporary event and broadcast networks, retail POS backhaul, and rack-to-rack trunking in small server rooms. If you need shorter cords for patch panels, see our Cat8 patch cord range and the ultra-flat patch cord series. Budget-sensitive gigabit projects are usually better served by our Cat6 and Cat6A patch cords, and field-termination hardware is listed under RJ45 plugs and connectors.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can a Cat8 cable be? A certified 40GBASE-T channel is limited to 30 metres including patching. Beyond that the cable still works perfectly at 10G, 5G, 2.5G and 1G speeds up to the normal 100 m Ethernet limit — so a 30 m Cat8 run is a safe long-term investment even on today’s gear.
Is a braided cable better than a plain flat one? Electrically they are identical; the braid is a mechanical upgrade. Choose braided for durability, tangle resistance and retail presentation, and smooth flat when the cable must sit invisibly under carpet or furniture.
Will Cat8 make my internet faster? Not on its own. Line rate is set by your switch, router and NIC. What Cat8 gives you is heavy electrical headroom, superior shielding against interference, and a link that will not need replacing when you move to multi-gig or 10G equipment.
Can it run Power over Ethernet at length? Yes. The 26AWG bare copper conductors are chosen specifically so that PoE++ cameras and access points can be powered over 20–30 m without voltage drop or thermal problems.
Do I need shielded jacks at both ends? For full shielding benefit, terminate into shielded keystones or shielded switch ports so the drain path is continuous. Plugged into unshielded equipment the cable still operates normally, just with less alien-crosstalk margin.
Can you make our colour, length and packaging? Yes — custom boot colours, jacket printing, cable length labels, logo velcro straps, barcoded retail boxes and Amazon FBA-ready cartons. See our OEM/ODM services and Fluke testing lab, then send your specification for a same-day quote.
