7.4 Cable and Accessories  
  7.4.2 Cable loss  
The amount of energy lost in the cable is called cable loss. The use of coaxial cable to carry RF energy, always results in some loss of signal strength. The amount of loss depends on the four factors below:
  • Length - Long cables lose more power than short cables.
  • Thickness - Thin cables lose more power than thick cables.
  • Frequency - Lower frequencies of 2.4 GHz lose less power than higher frequencies of 5 GHz, as shown in Figure .
  • Cable materials - Flexible cables lose more power than rigid cables.

Cable loss does not depend upon which direction the signal travels. Transmitted signals lose the same percentage of strength as received signals. Lost energy is wasted as heat. Interestingly, the low power levels of WLANs make cable heating almost undetectable.