It looks like this.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519siN2puIL._A...

So is it the black outer pvc stuff that releases the fumes or the actual internal wiring?

It's the sheathing materials: Low Smoke Halogen Free (LSHF) compounds are less toxic than PVC.

In reply to a post by 4M2:

......that is against fire regulations: external grade cable can give off highly toxic fumes in a fire. I think perhaps a metre of external cable is permissible......

Not sure but I think BT/OR allow 2m of exterior grade phone cable within the premises.

It is 26AWG rather than the normal 24 so a small saving on the copper part, then it may be copper clad aluminium rather than copper ... Is it solid conductor or stranded? They are small savings that do not explain the overall low cost.

For a good quality cable, I would expect to pay about £10 to £12 for 10 metres. A rough guide is about £1.50 per connector, plus 50p per metre - dropping a little for longer lengths. Colour also comes into it, common colours are slightly cheaper.

In reply to a post by MHC:

... common colours are slightly cheaper.

Yes, true blue Etonet connections are far superior.

Edited by RobertoS (Fri 07-Sep-12 10:02:43)

Generally with Ethernet if it manages the 100 Mbps link then cable is good enough.

The lower quality cables will more likely not run at GigaBit over anything but the shortest runs.