What primarily causes attenuation in a network cable?

Attenuation in a network cable is primarily caused by the length of the cable due to the inherent physical properties of the cable and the signals that travel through it. As the signal travels along the length of the cable, it experiences loss of strength due to several factors, including resistance, capacitance, and electromagnetic interference.

Longer cables have more resistance and can allow for more potential sources of interference, which results in greater signal degradation as the distance increases. This is why maintaining proper lengths is critical in network design; longer runs can lead to weakened signals, ultimately affecting data transmission quality and reliability.

While insulation material, cable connectors, and environmental temperature can influence overall network performance, they do not have as direct an effect on attenuation itself compared to the length of the cable. Each of these other factors can play a role in signal integrity, but attenuation primarily scales with increased distance traveled by the signal through the cable.