General Cable Buying Guide for Cost-Conscious Procurement Managers

General Cable: What a Procurement Manager Needs to Know in 2025

I’ve been managing cable procurement for a mid-sized electrical contractor for about 6 years now—handling roughly $180,000 in annual spend on everything from Cat6a plenum for office fit-outs to SOOW portable cord for industrial maintenance. When I first started, I assumed the lowest quote was always the smartest move. Three budget overruns and a couple of redo jobs later, I learned about total cost of ownership the hard way.

This FAQ covers the questions I wish someone had answered for me when I was comparing General Cable vs. Belden, figuring out what the “n93” spec actually means, or trying to decide if I needed to bother with brand-name connectors. Some of these I figured out by making mistakes. A couple I learned from a supplier who finally sat me down and explained things. (Should mention: I use General Cable as our primary supplier now, but I’ve used Belden and Commscope on specific jobs too.)

1. Is General Cable USA the same as Prysmian General Cable? Did the brand change?

Short answer: Yes, they’re the same company now. Prysmian Group acquired General Cable in 2018. So if you see “Prysmian General Cable” on a datacenter spec, or just “General Cable” on a job site order, it’s the same product line—same manufacturing plants in Lincoln, RI and Marion, IN.

What does this mean for a buyer? For me, it meant I could leverage Prysmian’s global supply chain without worrying about quality dropping. The manufacturing lines and quality control processes at General Cable’s US plants stayed consistent. If I remember correctly, the acquisition was mostly about Prysmian expanding their footprint in North America. The product numbers (like the n93 series) didn’t change.

Should note: I’ve seen some contractors get confused and think they’re dealing with an entirely new brand. They’re not. It’s the same UL-listed product, just with a slightly different corporate logo on the box.

2. Is General Cable better than Belden or Commscope? How do I compare them on cost?

It’s tempting to just compare unit prices. But in my experience, that’s an oversimplification. Here’s what I’ve learned tracking purchases across all three brands over the last 4 years:

• General Cable tends to be mid-range on price. Think of it as the reliable workhorse—not the cheapest, but consistent quality with broad availability.
• Belden is usually premium-priced. Their data cable (especially Cat6a) often runs 20–40% higher per foot in my experience. But their industrial cables are top-notch if the spec demands it.
• Commscope (formerly Systimax) is also premium, especially when you factor in their warranty requirements for certified installers.

For a recent warehouse retrofit project, I compared quotes for 5000 ft of Cat6a plenum. General Cable was about $0.11/ft less than Belden. But the real savings came from the connectors. I almost went with Belden until I checked the connector compatibility. General Cable’s Cat6a plugs were $0.18 each; Belden’s were $0.32 each. On a job with 200 drops, that adds up.

Total cost of ownership (TCO) matters more than unit price. Always check connector and patch panel compatibility (ugh, learned that one the hard way after ordering the wrong ones).

3. What does the model number “n93” mean on General Cable products?

I see “n93” a lot on quotes and spec sheets. It’s a General Cable internal product series designation for their data communication cables—specifically, their Cat6 and Cat6a unshielded twisted pair (UTP) lines. You’ll see it on the jacket printing: “General Cable n93 Cat6.”

From what I’ve gathered (and confirmed with my supplier a couple of years ago), the “n” stands for “network” and “93” is just a series number. It doesn’t mean anything about performance beyond the Cat6/Cat6a rating printed next to it. The real spec you care about is the UL listing and the frequency rating (250 MHz for Cat6, 500 MHz for Cat6a).

I want to say there’s a similar “n92” series that’s older or for specific applications, but I haven’t personally ordered it. Don’t quote me on that. (Finally! This stuff is confusing.)

4. Should I buy General Cable connectors, or are generics fine with their cable?

I learned this the expensive way on a Cat6a job two years ago. We had General Cable cable and a box of cheap “compatible” RJ45 connectors from a discount supplier. Result: about 15% of the terminations failed certification testing. The tester showed near-end crosstalk (NEXT) failures. We had to re-terminate 30 drops with General Cable’s own connectors. Passed immediately.

General Cable designs their connectors (and patch panels) to work with the specific geometry of their cable. The wire gauge, insulation thickness, and pair separator design—all optimized together. Generic connectors might work 80% of the time, but for a job that needs to pass Fluke testing, why risk it?

The price difference is maybe $0.05–$0.10 per connector. The cost of a redo (labor + time + potential delay penalties)? Much more. Just use the brand-matched ones. At least, that’s my experience with Cat6/Cat6a jobs.

5. General Cable vs. Cisco switches? (I keep seeing this comparison—are they competitors?)

No. Cisco makes network switches and routers. General Cable makes the physical cabling that connects to those switches. They operate at different layers of the network stack.

Where the comparison comes up is in total system cost. A procurement manager might spec a Cisco switch with a specific power-over-ethernet (PoE) budget, and then need cable that supports that PoE spec. General Cable’s Cat6a cable handles higher PoE loads (like PoE++ for PTZ cameras or Wi-Fi 6 access points) better than older Cat5e or basic Cat6. So you need both—and you need them to work together.

The question isn’t “which is better?” It’s “is the cable compatible with the switch requirements?” Check the IEEE 802.3 standards for PoE and the cable’s frequency rating. I built a simple calculator years ago after getting burned on a 1000-ft run that needed higher PoE. The cable (Cat5e) couldn’t handle it. Lesson: think about the whole system, not just the active equipment cost.

6. Are the “made in USA” claims from General Cable actually true in 2025?

For most of their core products—yes. General Cable USA manufactures the majority of their commercial and industrial cables in US facilities (Lincoln, RI; Marion, IN; Lawrenceburg, KY). I’ve visited the Lawrenceburg plant on a customer tour. They draw copper, extrude insulation, and assemble cables there. It’s not just assembly of imported components.

But some specialty cables or specific constructions might source raw materials globally. Read the “Country of Origin” on the box or ask for a certificate of origin if it matters for your project specs (like federal contracts with Buy American provisions). For standard Cat6 and THHN, I’ve consistently seen US-based manufacturing.

I’d add: even if a competitor claims “assembled in USA,” find out where the copper rod comes from. General Cable buys a lot of domestic copper from Freeport-McMoRan. That’s a bigger differentiator than where the final jacket is printed.

7. What should I look for in a connector for General Cable’s SOOW or industrial cables?

SOOW (Service, Oil-resistant, Jacket, Water-resistant) is a workhorse portable cord for generators, temporary power, and heavy equipment. Connectors matter a lot here because the environment is rough.

I use General Cable’s SOOW with their own “Sure-Seal” connectors when possible. But industry standard leviton or hubbell connectors work fine too—just make sure they’re rated for the same amperage and wire gauge. The common mistake (I did this my first year): using a 15A connector on a 20A circuit rated SOOW. Doesn’t meet code.

For industrial control cable (like VNTC or tray cable), I always specify the same brand for both cable and connector. The torque specs and insulation displacement are matched. Generic terminations can work but I’ve had more failures. At least in my experience with high-vibration factory environments.

8. Is General Cable a good fit for a small contractor like me, or only for big projects?

I’m with a mid-sized contractor (about 75 electricians). We use General Cable for both small (1000 ft runs) and large (50,000+ ft warehouse) jobs. Their distribution network through Wesco, Graybar, and other national distributors makes it easy to buy even small quantities.

For a small contractor just starting out, the minimum order might be a whole reel (500 ft or 1000 ft). But you can often buy cut lengths (like 250 ft) from distributors. Online suppliers like Platt Electric or even Amazon Business stock General Cable too.

The best argument for them is consistency. Once you qualify a product, you know the spool-to-spool performance won’t change. For a small operation, that predictability saves a lot of testing time. (Finally! Something that makes my job easier.)