Family-owned and supplying cable for over two decades
Stock positioned across the country, closest to your job
Channel-tested structured cabling, registered installs
An education facility bid needs five different cable types, and each one is built to its own ratings. Network, fire alarm, security, paging, and thermostat cable usually come from separate suppliers because most stock only part of that list. Commodity Cables stocks all of it in one catalog, from Cat 6A plenum and FPLP fire alarm cable to shielded security, speaker, and thermostat wire.
The business has been part of the cable supply market since 2001, with 11 locations built to move stocked product quickly.
| Cable Family | What We Stock | Campus Application |
|---|---|---|
| Cat 6 riser cable | 23 AWG 4-pair U/UTP, tested to 600MHz, CMR, 75°C, DC 300V, 1,000ft pull box | Classroom drops and IDF links outside plenum space |
| Cat 6A plenum cable | 23 AWG 4-pair F/UTP, 10G at 500MHz over 100 meters, CMP, 90°C, FEP insulation | WiFi access points and PoE runs through air-handling ceilings |
| Shielded security cable | 18/2 and 18/4, 7-strand bare copper, aluminum mylar shield with tinned drain wire, plenum and riser builds | Cameras, door contacts, intercom, and card readers |
| Access control composite | 22/3PR shielded plus 18/4C, 22/4C, and 22/2C under one CMP jacket | Card reader, lock power, REX, and door contact in a single pull |
| Fire alarm cable | FPLP and FPLR, 14 to 22 AWG unshielded plus 16 and 14 AWG shielded, 300V | Fire alarm, smoke detectors, and voice communications |
| Speaker cable | 16/2 and 16/4, 65-strand oxygen-free copper, 300V, 75°C | Paging horns, classroom AV, gym and cafeteria sound |
| Thermostat wire | 18 and 20 AWG solid bare copper, 2 to 12 conductors, CL3/CL2, sun resistant | Unit ventilator and building control wiring |
A classroom wing pulls the same drop thirty times, so the construction has to be right once. The route decides the jacket. Anything that crosses an air-handling ceiling needs the plenum build, and the runs below it can pull riser.
Cat 6A plenum 6ACMP234Rx is 23 AWG four-pair F/UTP tested to ANSI/TIA 568-C.2 for 10GBASE-T at 500MHz over 100 meters, with FEP insulation and a low smoke FR-PVC jacket. The 90°C plenum rating is the number that matters for WiFi, because access points on PoE put a constant load on the run, and the higher rating keeps that load from derating the cable.
Riser routes pull Cat 6 riser 6CMR234Bx, 23 AWG four-pair U/UTP tested to 600MHz at 75°C, DC 300V, in 1,000ft pull boxes with sequential footage markings for cutting drops to length. Both constructions carry IEEE 802.3 applications including PoE and PoE+, and the 35-year structured cabling warranty applies to eligible category cable builds.
School security scope spans cameras, readers, and intercom, and the shielded 18 AWG builds carry most of it. The shield matters on these runs because they share ceilings with every other system on this page, and the drain wire gives that interference somewhere to go.
1802SCMPBX is 18/2 shielded plenum and 1804SCMPRX is the 18/4 version, both 7-strand bare copper under aluminum mylar with a 24 AWG tinned copper drain. The plenum builds carry CMP, CL3P, and FPLP listings under NEC Articles 725, 760, and 800, rated 300V from -4°C to 75°C. Non-plenum routes pull 1802SCMRRX, the CMR, CL3R, FPLR riser equivalent.
Doors are their own pull. The access control composite ACCCMP184223RX bundles a 22 AWG 3-pair shielded reader circuit, 18/4 lock power, 22/4 REX or spare, and 22/2 door contact under one CMP and CL2P jacket, ETL verified from -25°C to +75°C. The composite exists, so those four circuits go through the frame as one cable instead of four.
Fire alarm is the code-driven line item on every education bid, and the ratings printed on the jacket are what the inspector reads. Unshielded FPLP plenum builds run from FPLP182URR at 18/2 through FPLP144URR at 14/4, annealed solid bare copper with FR-PVC insulation and jacket, rated for 300V, suitable from -20°C to +75°C.
Shielded FPLP162SRR and FPLP142SRR cover a specific case: circuits that share a pathway with other systems. They add a 0.38mm tinned copper drain over aluminum foil to keep that interference off the signal. Riser routes pull the FPLR family from FPLR224URR at 22/4 through FPLR142URR at 14/2.
Every construction prints sequential markings every 2 feet with a rip cord and carries the UL E498766 listing on 1,000ft wooden reels.
Paging is part of the acceptance test, so the wire is not the place to improvise. SPK162B5x is 16/2, and SPK164B5x is 16/4, both 65-strand oxygen-free copper with PVC insulation, a PVC jacket with a nylon rip cord, rated 300V at 75°C, in purple or white.
The conductor count follows the system. The four-conductor build feeds ceiling speakers with a 70V tap line and return in one pull, and the two-conductor build handles classroom audio and gym or cafeteria sound.
A campus cabling bid usually pulls Cat 6 or Cat 6A for the network drops and WiFi, shielded 18 AWG security cable for cameras, readers, and intercom, FPLP or FPLR fire alarm where the route dictates the listing, speaker wire for paging and AV, and thermostat wire for the building controls. Commodity Cables stocks all of those families in one catalog, so the order goes to one supplier instead of five.
Yes. Cat 6A plenum 6ACMP234Rx carries the CMP listing at 90°C, the 18/2 and 18/4 shielded security builds carry CMP, CL3P, and FPLP, the fire alarm line carries FPLP, and the access control composite carries CMP and CL2P. Each spec sheet documents the ratings before the order goes out.
Yes. Network, security, fire alarm, paging, and control cable quote together from the same warehouse inventory, with availability confirmed during quoting so the full package ships as one order.
Bidding a school or campus build? Call 866-945-5051 or get a quote. Stocked orders placed by 2:30 PM ship the same day.
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