Outdoor CAT 5e Cables
Windy City Wire manufactures SmartWire low-voltage outdoor CAT 5e cables designed for reliable network performance in demanding environments. Built for integrators, electrical contractors, and low-voltage professionals, these products support outdoor data, voice, and PoE applications with stable Category 5e performance to 100 MHz and durable construction that stands up to moisture, sunlight, and temperature swings. Whether you need a direct-burial run to field equipment or a run in conduit around a facility, our outdoor cable options help keep projects on schedule and performing long-term.
Every SmartWire outdoor cat5e wire features bare copper conductors for consistent data integrity, dependable PoE delivery, and long-term serviceability. A UV-resistant black jacket withstands sun exposure and weather, while a flooded, gel-filled core helps block water ingress. Choose non-shielded or shielded constructions to match the EMI environment and installation method.
Why SmartWire outdoor rated cat5e cables for your next project
Typical applications
Specifications at a glance
Selecting the right outdoor cable for your environment
Available constructions
How Windy City Wire adds value to your project
Our SmartWire outdoor cat5e solutions are engineered to reduce installation friction, simplify product selection, and deliver dependable performance in the field. By offering moisture-blocking flooded constructions, shielded and non-shielded options, and consistent Category 5e performance, we help contractors deploy low-voltage networks that are easier to install, maintain, and scale. When you need outdoor cat5e cable that balances durability, signal integrity, and ease of installation, Windy City Wire delivers products and solutions you can trust from first pull to final test.
Outdoor CAT 5e Cables for Commercial and Industrial Projects
Windy City Wire’s outdoor CAT 5e solutions are built for dependable low-voltage performance across campuses, facilities, and large sites where networked devices operate outside the building envelope. These outdoor cable constructions support Category 5e performance up to 100 MHz for IP data, voice, and control, delivering reliable links for Gigabit Ethernet and many PoE-powered devices. Options include unshielded models for standard environments and shielded, gel-filled direct-burial designs for areas with elevated electrical noise and moisture exposure.
Constructed with solid bare copper conductors and an outdoor-rated jacket, our outdoor cat5e cable portfolio is engineered to help integrators and contractors extend networks to the edge of the property with confidence. Flooded (gel-filled) designs help prevent water migration, while direct-burial options eliminate the need for conduit in many soil conditions when permitted by code. The result is a rugged, commercial-grade cat5e wire that helps maintain signal integrity in challenging environments.
Where Outdoor CAT 5e Excels
Industries Served
System Integrations and Typical Device Connections
Choosing Shielded vs. Unshielded Outdoor Cat5e Cable
Performance and Construction Highlights
Planning and Installation Guidance
Why Spec Windy City Wire for Outdoor Applications
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Whether you are extending surveillance to a new parking area, adding outdoor Wi‑Fi, or networking controllers across an industrial yard, our outdoor rated cat5e cables provide a dependable foundation. Contact Windy City Wire to match the right outdoor cat5e cable to your environment, shielding needs, and performance requirements.
These SmartWire Outdoor Cat 5e cables are available in 24 AWG, 4-pair copper constructions. You can choose either unshielded or shielded outdoor/direct-burial options to match your installation needs.
The twisted-pair color code inside the cable follows: White-Blue/Blue, White-Orange/Orange, White-Green/Green, and White-Brown/Brown. The outer jacket is a black, outdoor-rated jacket.
They use solid bare copper conductors in each of the four twisted pairs for optimal performance and distance in outdoor/direct-burial runs.
Windy City Wire manufactures and stocks SmartWire Outdoor Cat 5e in 1,000 ft lengths as our standard length. For installation efficiency, SmartWire cables include features that help streamline pulls and reduce waste.
Our SmartWire Outdoor wire is packaged in our patented RackPack carton to help maximize labor savings and pulling efficiency as part of our complete solution. Learn more about our RackPack: https://windycitywire.com/solutions/rackpack-overview
Both are 75Ω coax, but RG6 has a thicker center conductor and dielectric, providing lower attenuation and higher bandwidth support than RG59. RG6 typically features stronger shielding and is preferred for satellite, cable TV, and broadband over longer runs and higher frequencies. RG59 is thinner, more flexible, and often used for shorter analog CCTV baseband video runs; it exhibits higher loss over distance and at higher frequencies.
BACnet is an application-layer building automation protocol, not a physical interface. It can run over Ethernet/IP (use Cat cable) or over BACnet MS/TP, which uses an RS‑485 physical layer (use 22–24 AWG, 120Ω twisted pair, typically shielded, with proper termination). RS‑232 is a single-ended, point-to-point serial interface for short runs (commonly up to tens of feet at higher speeds) and doesn’t support multi-drop networks; it typically uses a few conductors and benefits from shielding in noisy environments. RS‑485 is a balanced differential bus that supports multi-drop networks, longer distances (up to thousands of feet at lower speeds), and requires twisted pair (and termination/biasing) for reliable noise immunity.