Shielded twisted pair surpasses unshielded twisted pair at speeds above what threshold?

• A. At 1 Gbps
• B. Only at speeds below 100 Mbps
• C. Over 10 Gbps
• D. At 100 Mbps

Answer: (C)

Shielded twisted pair adds a shielding layer to block external noise and reduce crosstalk between pairs. At lower speeds, the signal bandwidth is smaller and both shielded and unshielded cables can carry the data reliably, so the shielding doesn’t provide a noticeable edge. As data rates rise, the signal has more high-frequency components that are more easily degraded by EMI and crosstalk, so the shielding helps preserve signal integrity. This advantage becomes significant in the high-gigabit range, where speeds exceed about 10 Gbps, making shielding worthwhile despite higher cost. So the option that describes speeds over 10 Gbps is the best fit.