What may cause corruption and distortion in newly installed Ethernet cabling?

The correct answer identifies EMI (electromagnetic interference) and RFI (radio frequency interference) as potential causes of corruption and distortion in newly installed Ethernet cabling. These types of interference can significantly impact the quality of the transmitted signals over the cabling.

Ethernet cables, especially those that are poorly shielded or improperly installed, can pick up external noise from nearby electrical devices, fluorescent lights, or other sources of electromagnetic activity. This interference can lead to data corruption, higher error rates, and ultimately reduced performance of the network.

Proper installation practices, such as maintaining appropriate distances from potential sources of interference and using shielded cables in environments with known interference, can help mitigate these problems.

In contrast, while low bandwidth capacity and high utilization of available ports can impact network performance, they do not typically cause physical signal corruption in the way that EMI and RFI do. Similarly, too short cable lengths generally would not lead to signal issues, as Ethernet standards dictate operating cable lengths that are usually adequate for stable performance.