Shielded twisted pair (STP) cables have to shielding mechanisms:
a) The twisted shield which is good for a protection of frequencies lower than 1GHz.
b) A foil-type screen to shield against the higher frequencies.
Twisted shields aren’t very vulnerable to aging but the foil-shield underneath can age dramatically as bending tests have shown.
This means a risk for high frequency cables, explains Mr. Trä: „We’re losing the high frequency performance when the foil shield ages. But the cable harness within a car is almost impossible to change during the lifecycle. In order to fulfill the requirements of the OEMs we need to achieve higher data rates. But for STP cables we're reaching a limit which we shouldn't cross, especially when it comes to aging.“
For highspeed streams, Mr. Trä suggests Shielded parallel pair or even Coax cables.
„We shouldn’t always go for the cheapest option but favor safety and other cables instead – especially for half autonomous driving!“