Belkin High Speed Internet Modem Cable phone cable - 2.1 m

...almost always gets ignored. So, Belkin came up with this 'high speed' premium cable to help convince people that they need a new cable to make their lives complete, or rather, make their internet connection 'as fast as a speeding bullet'.

The Internet Modem cable, unsurprisingly, is used to connect your modem, be it internal or external, to your standard BT wall outlet. On one end you have the typical RJ-11 plug, and on the other, ...
...ethernet network cables. In fact, Belkin claims that this cable can support data transfer rates up to 100 Mb/s. Those sort of speeds are way off into the future, in terms of what you can get through a standard telephone or even broadband line, so you have to question whether this is a relevant feature.

The advanced construction and quality materials used in the cable mean that fewer packets will be lost before reaching the modem, in ... more

Cables are heavily underrated. Everyone always thinks their computer will run faster if they upgrade their hardware or OS, but the humble cable almost always gets ignored. So, Belkin came up with this 'high speed' premium cable to help convince people that they need a new cable to make their lives complete, or rather, make their internet connection 'as fast as a speeding bullet'.

The Internet Modem cable, unsurprisingly, is used to connect your modem, be it internal or external, to your standard BT wall outlet. On one end you have the typical RJ-11 plug, and on the other, a BT plug has already been connected. This means you don't have to go out and buy any converters. The RJ-11 plug is of similar style to some of Belkin's RJ-45 plugs, with tabs protruding up the sides to prevent you from accidentally disconnecting the plug from its jack, which is a nice touch. They also prevent the tab from being snapped off. The plug itself is moulded onto the cable, although the BT plug is the standard crimp-on variety.

Looking at the plugs more closely, the contacts are plated with 24 CT gold. Although I am sceptical about any performance gains, I would agree that it will certainly help with durability, since the gold will resist oxidation which would cause signal degradation.

The technology used in the construction of this cable is very similar to the technology used for Belkin's standard range of Cat 5 ethernet network cables. In fact, Belkin claims that this cable can support data transfer rates up to 100 Mb/s. Those sort of speeds are way off into the future, in terms of what you can get through a standard telephone or even broadband line, so you have to question whether this is a relevant feature.

The advanced construction and quality materials used in the cable mean that fewer packets will be lost before reaching the modem, in comparison with a generic cable. On top of this, the cable can withstand bending around tight corners without any problems, and the RJ-11 plug comes with a strain relief to prevent snagging.

I had the cable connected to my 56k internal modem, straight from the telephone master socket. Whilst the quality of the cable impressed me, the data transfer rates didn't improve. The reliability of the connection was also comparable to my old cheapo cable.

I can't tell you about the performance of the cable with ADSL, although presumably it would make more of a difference on a high-speed connection.

If you are looking for a new modem cable, maybe because your old one is broken, I would recommend this without hesitation. If you already have a cable, don't expect to get any performance gains, and if you're already routing your line through a long extension cable and a secondary socket, it would defeat the purpose of using a fancy cable on the end.

I bought the cable from Dell for ~£3.00 not including P&P, as a replacement for a cheap one which stopped working. Standard generic cables should be around £1.00. Prices vary quite considerably, so shop around. 

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