“CCCA is raising the alarm again and cautioning by citing real-life failures with copper clad aluminum (CCA) communication cables offered by low cost, online suppliers,” comments Frank Peri, CCCA executive director. “These suppliers promote and advertise CMR or CMP cables that bear counterfeit certification marks or have no listing or verification marks from independent third-party testing laboratories. Using the lure of low price, some online suppliers can entice customers unaware of the true nature and quality of their cables. ”
Colin Bennett on 03 Feb 15"We hear a lot about counterfeit components-mostly ICs and passives-but we don't see much about the situation with cabling. Yet, it seems to be a serious problem, especially as the cable may work to some extent if not full spec. According to Cabling & Installer, their 2011 article on the subject Counterfeit cable exposed was among their top 10 articles in 2014, three years after publication! (Also see Counterfeit cable is getting ugly.) The result is a cable assembly that doesn't fully meet the operating spec and may sort-of work but only support lower data rates, or a PoE (Power over Ethernet) installation unable to provide the specification's power."