Ordinary Cat 6 cable is not designed for outdoor use.
Extreme temperatures and humidity shorten the useful lifetime of such an outdoor online grid.
Conduits can fail in extreme weather such as heavy rainstorms or subfreezing cold.
Lifewire / Chloe Giroux
Direct burial Cat 6 cables cost more but are designed for outdoor use.
In addition to being sealed against moisture, they often have shielding against radio frequency (RF) interference.
Exterior-grade Ethernet cables are waterproof and can be buried in the ground without a conduit.
This is important when running the cable up the side of a house or across a roof.
Beyond this, the signal begins to attenuate and reduces the speed and reliability of the connections.
Ultimately, results vary from one cable to the next.
