STP

Cabling with shielding to reduce electromagnetic interference.

Shielded twisted pair cabling wraps conductors in a metallic shield to reduce electromagnetic interference and crosstalk, useful in electrically noisy environments such as factory floors. The shield also slightly reduces signal emanation that could be captured, touching on physical eavesdropping concerns. Proper grounding is required or the shield can worsen noise. On the exam, contrast STP with unshielded twisted pair, which is cheaper and more common, and do not confuse this cabling term with Spanning Tree Protocol, which prevents switching loops.