Electrical transmission performance is always measured for each cable type according to the requirements of all relevant international standards and mature standard proposals. A detailed description of the 3P cable ratings and supported standards and standard proposals is found below.

Fire safety performance is verified according to requirements applicable for PVC sheathed, flame retardant low smoke zeo halogen (LS0H) and fire retardant low smoke zeo halogen (LSFR0H) cables. The three different safety grades are existing for each cable type, i.e. a Category 6 cable may be qualified in all three safety versions, which are separately listed. The sheathing material and process will influence the cable performance and therefore all three safety grades need separate qualifications.

Installation stability performance is verified by subjecting the cable to a simulated installation testing containing both pulling of the cable around corners and coiling of the cable in ducts at the wall outlet. As an example performance of Category 6 cables is extremely sensitive to coiling and therefore this testing has high attention by 3P. Many cables have been rejected by 3P due to failing performance (especially return loss) after simulated installation testing.

Mechanical performance of cable and materials is verified by tensile testing of cable, conductor, primary insulation and sheathing material.

Temperature performance of cable and materials is evaluated in two different ways. Samples of cable and cable compounds are subjected to high and low temperatures to verify the resistance to maintain performance in extreme temperature environments. The cable itself is measured for performance at both 40C and 60C to secure that the electrical performance of the cable stays within the specified limits within the normal temperature range for the installation. A common failure for cables is for instance that the attenuation degrades more rapidly than allowed at higher temperatures.

Material performance is verified for all tested cable by infrared analysis of all applied compounds to verify unchanged materials in the production. Changing of materials may significantly affect the performance of the cable making additional 3P verification testing necessary.