GENERAL
CHARACTERISTICS
Markings
The requirements for the exact text and
location of the markings, and the method of identification, vary among the
different types of wire and cable. Wherever possible, the product is surface
marked with information necessary for proper installation. When surface marking
is not possible — or for other considerations — all or a portion of the
marking may be located on a tag, reel or the smallest unit carton as permitted
by the requirements of each product category. Whenever possible, the rating or
characteristic is plainly indicated. Other methods — for example, colored
tracers under the jacket or insulation — may be used to identify a certain
characteristic, such as temperature rating for some fixture wires. To completely
determine the suitability of a particular wiring system, review of the product
itself, tag markings and carton markings may be necessary.
Some wire and cable may be marked with
multiple Type designations. These products have been evaluated for uses of all
Type designations marked.
All markings on or associated with wire
and cable, as well as the Listing information of the appropriate category (see
Appendix B), should be consulted to determine all ratings and limitations for
proper installation in accordance with requirements of the NEC ®
UL evaluates wiring products with
respect to the marked ratings and uses indicated by the Type designation
associated with the UL Mark. Wiring products are not evaluated with respect to
marked ratings and uses associated with other certification organizations.
Conductor
Material
Compact stranded copper conductors are
identified by "compact" or "cmpct," otherwise wire and cable
with bare or coated copper conductor material is not marked with stranding
identification.
If the conductor material is either
aluminum or copper-clad aluminum, the product, tag or carton markings (depending
on the product category) identify the conductor material. These markings will
appear as "AL,"ALUMINUM," "AL (CU-CLAD),"
"ALUMINUM (COPPER-CLAD)," "CU-CLAD AL" or "COPPER-CLAD
ALUMI-NUM."
For some wire and cable, other metals
may be used as conductor material. The associated markings for that wire and
cable are explained under the heading "OTHER."
Flammability
UL investigates wiring products with
respect to their intended locations and uses as permitted by the NEC ® .
Flammability or resistance to spread or propagation of fire is one of the
considerations that enters into the overall investigation of wire and cable. For
instance, products that are inherently permitted by the NEC ® to be
installed in cable trays or that are marked for such use are investigated for
fire conditions that could exist in a cable tray.
Similarly, cables covered for use in
accordance with Articles 725, 760, 770, 800 and 820 of the NEC ® are
investigated with respect to their application: plenum, riser, general use or
restricted residential use. Suffixes to the Type designation identify the use as
defined in the appropriate NEC ® articles:
-P Plenum
-R Riser
-No Suffix General purpose
-X Limited residential use
Some wire and cable may also have a
suffix "-LS" which means that the entire construction complies with the requirements
for flame retardant, limited smoke wiring materials as evaluated
per UL 1685.
Category 1 — Category 1 cable performance is
intended for basic communications and power-limited circuit cable. There are no
performance criteria for cable at this level. The word "Classified" or
"Verified" is not to be used in association with Category 1
Category 2 — Category 2 cable performance
requirements are similar to those for Type 3 cable (multi-pair communications
cable) of the IBM Cabling System Technical Interface Specification
(GA27-3773-1).
Category 3 — Category 3 data cable complies with
the transmission requirements in the Telecommunications Industry
Association/Electronic Industries Association (TIA/EIA) 568 Commercial Building
Tele-communications Category Standard.
Category 4 — Category 4 cable complies with the
requirements in the Telecommunications Industry Association/Electronic
Industries Association (TIA/EIA) 568 Commercial Building Telecommunications
Category Standard. (Cables/connecting hardware with transmission parameters
characterized up to 20 MHz)
Category 5 — Category 5 cable complies with the
requirements in the Telecommunications Industry Association/Electronic
Industries Association (TIA/EIA) 568 Commercial Building Telecommunications
Category Standard.
Category 5E — Category 5E cable complies with the
requirements in the Telecommunication Industry Association/Electronics
Industries Association (TIA/EIA) 568 Commercial Building Telecommunications
Category Standard Addendum No. 5.
Check out Anixter's Technical Library for more info on the Telecommunication Industry Association/Electronics Industries Association (TIA/EIA) 568 Commercial Building Telecommunications Category Standard.
The following requirements apply only to wire and cable used for patch cords and cross-connect jumpers:
Jumper/patch cord maximum length limitations:
COMMUNICATIONS CABLE (DUZX) USE AND INSTALLATION
This category covers communications cable which is a
single conductor coaxial cable or a multiple conductor jacketed cable for
telephone and other communications circuits for use as described in Article 800
of NFPA 70, “National Electrical Code” (NEC).
This cable is used as wiring from a protector to a
telephone or other communications equipment within a building, and for use as
interconnecting wiring between parts of a communications system.
Except for special locations specifically required
by the NEC, communications cable, in general, is not required to be installed in
conduit or raceway.
PRODUCT MARKINGS
Communications cable is identified by marking on the surface of the
jacket or on a marker tape under the jacket. This marking includes one of the
following Type designations:
CM — Indicates cable intended for general use within buildings in
accordance with Section 800.53(E)(1) of the NEC. This cable does not spread
flame to the top of the tray in the Vertical-Tray Flame Test in UL 1685,
“Vertical-Tray Fire-Propagation and Smoke-Release Test for Electrical and
Optical-Fiber Cables.”
CMG — Indicates cable for general use within buildings in accordance with
Section 800.53(E)(1) of the NEC. The damage height of this cable does not exceed
4 ft 11 in. when tested in accordance with the CSA FT4 Vertical-Tray Flame Test
in UL 1685.
CMP — Indicates cable intended for use within buildings in ducts or plenums
or other spaces used for environmental air in accordance with Section 800.53(A)
of the NEC. This cable exhibits a maximum peak optical density of 0.5 a maximum
average optical density of 0.15, and a maximum flame spread distance of 5 ft,
when tested per NFPA 262, “Standard Method of Test for Flame Travel and Smoke
of Wire and Cables for Use in Air-Handling Spaces.”
CMR — Indicates cable intended for use within buildings in vertical shafts
in accordance with Section 800.53(B) of the NEC. The flame propagation height of
this cable is less than 12 ft when tested per UL 1666, “Test for Flame
Propagation Height of Electrical and Optical-Fiber Cables Installed Vertically
in Shafts.”
CMUC — Indicates cable for under carpet use in accordance with Section
800.53(E)(6) of the NEC. This cable complies with the VW-1 Flame Test
requirements in UL 1581, “Reference Standard for Electrical Wires Cables, and
Flexible Cords.”
CMX — Indicates cable intended for use within buildings (1) where the wire
or cable is enclosed in raceway or noncombustible tubing, or (2) in no concealed
spaces where the exposed length of wire or cable does not exceed 10 ft, or (3)
in one- or two-family or multifamily dwellings when the cable diameter is less
than 0.25 in., in accordance with Section 800.53(E) of the NEC. Type CMX cable
may be marked “Outdoor” to indicate its suitability for installation
outdoors on dwellings. This cable complies with the VW-1 Flame Test requirements
in UL 1581.
Cable that contains one or more optical fiber
members has the suffix “-OF” added to the above.
Cable that complies with the Limited Smoke
Requirements specified in UL 1685 is surface marked with the suffix “LS.”
Cable marked “Shielded” contains one or more
electromagnetic shields.
Cable that complies with the requirements for
“Limited Combustible” specified in NFPA 90A, “Installation of Air
Conditioning and Ventilating Systems,” is surface marked “Limited
Combustible.”
Multipurpose
cable complies with the requirements for Types CM, CMG, CMP, or CMR and also
complies with the requirements as described in Sections 760.71(B) and (I) of the
NEC, and has one of the following designations:
MP — Indicates cable intended for use within buildings in accordance with
Section 800.53(E)(1) of the NEC. This cable does not spread flame to the top of
the tray when tested in accordance with the requirements of the Vertical-Tray
Flame Test in UL 1685.
MPG — Indicates cable for general use within buildings in accordance with
Section 800.53(E) of the NEC. The damage height of this cable does not exceed 4
ft 11 in. when tested in accordance with the CSA FT4 Vertical-Tray Flame Test in
UL 1581.
MPP — Indicates cable that is intended for use within buildings in ducts,
plenums or other spaces used for environmental air in accordance with Section
800.53(B) of the NEC. This cable exhibits a maximum peak optical density of 0.5,
a maximum average optical density of 0.15, and a maximum flame spread distance
of 5.0 ft when tested in accordance with NFPA 262.
MPR — Indicates cable intended for use within buildings in vertical shafts
in accordance with Section 800.53(E)(1) of the NEC. The flame propagation height
of this cable is less than 12 ftwhen tested in accordance with UL 1666.
Listed cable that is additionally marked “Verified
(UL) Category 2, 3, 4, 5, 5E or 6 [including latest draft number if
applicable]” or “Verified (UL) Category 3, 4, 5, SE or 6 [including latest
draft number if applicable] Patch Cable” for Stranded Conductor Cables, has
been evaluated in accordance with the UL Data Transmission Performance
Category Marking Program and is manufactured under an acceptable quality
assurance system.
Listed cable that is additionally marked “Verified
(UL) Category 6 or 7 NEMA WC66” has been evaluated in accordance with the NEMA
WC66 performance standard for category 6 and 7 100 ohm shielded and unshielded
twisted pair cable. Additionally, this cable has been manufactured under an
acceptable quality assurance system.
Listed cable that is additionally marked “Verified
In Accordance With [Specification name and/or number]” complies with the
requirements of a transmission performance specification referenced and is
manufactured under an acceptable quality assurance system.
Communications wire includes distributing frame wire
and cross-connect wire which are single wires or unjacketed multiconductor
assemblies of these wires that are intended for use in distributing frames and
in cross-connect arrays in accordance with Section 800.53(C) of the NEC.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For additional information, see Electrical Equipment
for Use in Ordinary Locations (MLZ).
REQUIREMENTS
The basic standard used to investigate products in
this category is UL 444, “Communications Cable.” In addition, the standards
used to investigate cables marked “Verified In Accordance With
[Specification]” include the applicable Performance Standards.
UL MARK
The UL symbol on the product and the Listing Mark of
Underwriters Laboratories Inc. on the attached tag, the reel or the smallest
unit container in which the product is packaged is the only method provided by
UL to identify products manufactured under its Listing and Follow-Up Service.
The Listing Mark for these products includes the UL symbol (as illustrated in
the Introduction of this Directory) together with the word “LISTED,” a
control number, and the product name “Communications Cable.”
Cable Verified to the UL Data Transmission
Performance Category Marking Program has the marking “Venfied to UL
Performance Category Program,” together with the Listing Mark information on
the tag, reel or smallest unit container; cable Verified to another transmission
performance specification has the marking “Verified in Accordance with
[Specification name and/or number]” together with the Listing Mark information
on the tag, reel or smallest unit container.