What type of pairs were primarily utilized by LANs before Gigabit Ethernet?

Before the widespread adoption of Gigabit Ethernet, LANs primarily utilized twisted pairs for network cabling. Twisted pair cabling consists of pairs of copper wires twisted together to reduce electromagnetic interference and crosstalk between the pairs. This design enhances the performance and reliability of data transmission over the network, making it particularly well-suited for networking applications.

Twisted pairs were commonly used for various Ethernet standards, notably 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX, which operated at speeds of 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps, respectively. These standards made extensive use of twisted pair cabling due to its relatively low cost, ease of installation, and sufficient performance for the data rates of that era.

Coaxial pairs, while utilized in some early networking protocols, became less common in LAN deployments as twisted pairs gained prominence. Similarly, shielded and unshielded variants of twisted pair cabling emerged, but the base category of twisted pair wire remains the primary type used prior to the introduction of Gigabit Ethernet, which would later effectively utilize improved versions of twisted pairs to reach higher speeds.