The Difference Between Composite and Hybrid Cable: Who’s Right?

With today’s applications calling for higher data rates and longer distances, more fiber is being installed. But these applications don’t just need data—they need power, too. And in order to deliver power, copper conductors are needed. This combination of fiber and copper conductors is made possible with a hybrid cable. But sometimes these cables are confused with composite cables. What’s the difference between the two?

While hybrid cables and composite cables are sometimes intermixed, it's important to realize that they aren’t the same. Each cable serves its own purpose. Understanding the differences between the two is important if you want to make the right choice for your application.

Definition Alignment for Hybrid Cable

Belden’s experts aren’t the only ones who have noticed this industry confusion and made attempts to correct it. Back in 2020, for example, TIA clarified its definitions for hybrid and composite cables in an effort to reduce uncertainty.

Even with that change, however, industry confusion persisted. While TIA had one definition, organizations like NEC, ICEA and ISO each had their own.

Earlier this year, these industry pillars came together to align their hybrid cable definitions. While each organization still has its own definition, they no longer conflict or contradict each other.

Here’s a look at the new definitions of hybrid cable from each standards organization:

• TIA (Telecommunications Industry Association): Cable that contains both optical fiber and current-carrying members.
  
  
• NEC (National Electrical Code) from the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association): A cable containing optical fibers and current-carrying electrical conductors.
  
  
• ICEA (Insulated Cable Engineers Association): Cables having both optical fibers and metallic conductors. (Note: For this standard, the metallic conductors are intended to provide power.)
  
  
• ISO (International Organization for Standards): Assembly of two or more cable units and/or cables of different types or categories in an overall sheath. (Note: The assembly may include an overall screen.)
  
  

Benefits of Aligning on Vocabulary

With these definitions in place, the organizations are hopeful that this congruence reduces industry confusion and makes it easier for everyone to be on the same page when discussing hybrid cables and composite cables.

In addition to minimizing confusion, there are a few other reasons why unifying hybrid cable’s definition across standards organizations is critical:

• Creates reliability in hybrid cable design and functionality, no matter what company manufactures them.
  
  
• Ensures that hybrid cables meet certain safety and performance criteria.
  
  
• Makes the creation of hybrid cable guidelines easier to roll out and abide by.
  
  
• Reduces confusion in the marketplace so buyers can make well-informed decisions about what they truly need.
  
  
• Enables manufacturers to innovate using a solid foundation.
  
  

What’s the Difference Between Hybrid and Composite Cables?

While language used to describe hybrid and composite cables is often interchanged, there are notable differences between the two cable types.

Hybrid cables are used in applications where power and data need to be delivered simultaneously (surveillance cameras or wireless access points, for example). These cables can transmit DC power and data over a single fiber cable.

Before hybrid cables hit the market, using copper cables and support Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology via was the only option to carry power and data in a single cable. But, in a hybrid cable, electrical conductors deliver power remotely. Power is carried through the cable from a centralized remote source, eliminating the need for separate data and power pathways to each location.

Because copper conductors and optical fibers are both represented in a hybrid able, this reduces inventory variances and supports faster installation, with only one cable to pull, stock and manage.

Meanwhile, composite cables combine different varieties of a single type of transmission medium under one jacket. For example, a composite cable could be a mix of multimode/singlemode fiber or of shielded and unshielded twisted-pair copper wires. You’ll often find it being used in AV applications, where multiple cables are jacketed as a single cable for single-pull installations.

Composite cables make it faster and easier to transmit more signals of the same type at once without using separate cables to do so.

Find the Right Fit

If you need help determining whether composite or hybrid cable is appropriate for your application, or if you have more questions that aren’t addressed here about the definition of hybrid cable, please reach out. We’re here to help you find the right fit.

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