<s>
Physical	B-Protocol
media	I-Protocol
refers	O
to	O
the	O
physical	O
materials	O
that	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
store	O
or	O
transmit	O
information	O
in	O
data	O
communications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
physical	B-Protocol
media	I-Protocol
are	O
generally	O
physical	O
objects	O
made	O
of	O
materials	O
such	O
as	O
copper	O
or	O
glass	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
physical	B-Protocol
media	I-Protocol
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
describe	O
data	B-General_Concept
storage	I-General_Concept
media	I-General_Concept
like	O
records	O
,	O
cassettes	B-Device
,	O
VHS	O
,	O
LaserDiscs	O
,	O
CDs	O
,	O
DVDs	O
,	O
and	O
Blu-rays	O
,	O
especially	O
when	O
compared	O
with	O
modern	O
streaming	O
media	O
or	O
content	O
that	O
has	O
been	O
downloaded	O
from	O
the	O
Internet	O
onto	O
a	O
hard	O
drive	O
or	O
other	O
storage	O
device	O
as	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Copper	O
wire	O
is	O
currently	O
the	O
most	O
commonly	O
used	O
type	O
of	O
physical	B-Protocol
media	I-Protocol
due	O
to	O
the	O
abundance	O
of	O
copper	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
its	O
ability	O
to	O
conduct	O
electrical	O
power	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Category	B-Protocol
3	I-Protocol
cable	I-Protocol
(	O
Cat3	O
)	O
,	O
has	O
three	O
to	O
four	O
twists	O
per	O
foot	O
and	O
can	O
support	O
speeds	O
of	O
10Mbit/s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Category	B-Protocol
5	I-Protocol
cable	I-Protocol
(	O
Cat5	O
)	O
is	O
newer	O
and	O
has	O
three	O
to	O
four	O
twists	O
per	O
inch	O
,	O
which	O
results	O
in	O
a	O
maximum	O
data	O
rate	O
of	O
100Mbit/s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
category	B-Protocol
5e	I-Protocol
(	O
Cat5e	B-Protocol
)	O
cables	O
which	O
can	O
support	O
speeds	O
of	O
up	O
to	O
1,000	O
Mbit/s	O
,	O
and	O
more	O
recently	O
,	O
category	O
6	O
cables	O
(	O
Cat6	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
support	O
data	O
rates	O
of	O
up	O
to	O
10,000	O
Mbit/s	O
(	O
i.e.	O
,	O
10Gbit/s	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
a	O
thicknet	O
,	O
it	O
uses	O
a	O
Bayonet	B-Protocol
Niell-Concelman	I-Protocol
(	O
BNC	O
)	O
on	O
each	O
end	O
to	O
connect	O
to	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	O
is	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
transceiver	O
at	O
the	O
cable	O
from	O
the	O
attachment	B-Protocol
unit	I-Protocol
interface	I-Protocol
of	O
its	O
network	O
card	O
using	O
a	O
drop	O
cable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
were	O
predominantly	O
based	O
on	O
coax	O
from	O
1980	O
to	O
about	O
1987	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Broadband	B-General_Concept
system-coax	O
has	O
sufficient	O
frequency	O
range	O
to	O
support	O
multiple	O
channels	O
,	O
allowing	O
greater	O
throughput	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
bus	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
on	O
which	O
coax	O
is	O
deployed	O
is	O
susceptible	O
to	O
congestion	O
,	O
noise	O
and	O
security	O
risks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
technology	O
constantly	O
changing	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
debate	O
on	O
whether	O
physical	B-Protocol
media	I-Protocol
is	O
still	O
prudent	O
and	O
necessary	O
to	O
an	O
increasingly	O
wireless	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wireless	O
and	O
physical	B-Protocol
media	I-Protocol
may	O
actually	O
complement	O
each	O
other	O
,	O
and	O
physical	B-Protocol
media	I-Protocol
will	O
matter	O
more	O
,	O
not	O
less	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
society	O
dominated	O
by	O
the	O
wireless	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
other	O
opinions	O
consider	O
physical	B-Protocol
media	I-Protocol
a	O
dead	O
technology	O
that	O
will	O
eventually	O
disappear	O
.	O
</s>
