Are ethernet cables the same world-wide?
 

In other words, can I use my US ethernet cable with a modem in Europe? Or, like phone cables and power plugs, is some sort of adapter required?

Yep, RJ45.

Excellent. Thank you so much, UAVirgin.

Modern Ethernet connectors, similar to phone cords but with 8 wires, are a worldwide standard called RJ45. But you won't have much luck using one with a modem, unless you mean a cable or DSL modem.
:-)

Yes, currently most everyone on the simple level uses rj45 connectors on an 8 wire system. but early eithernet cables were very different, and came in many flavors.

Just make sure it's a regular Ethernet cable. If it's the one you use to hook up your computer to a cable modem at home, as the first post implies, it'll be fine. If you take a different cable, make sure it's not a "crossover cable." Those are for connecting two computers to each other. They won't work for this. (Not all current computers need them for that, either, but they're still around.)

To see if it's a cross over or not, hold the two sets of pins side by side, the four or eight cables should be in the same order by color from left to right.

Ahh yes... the AUI connector with the little friggin' slide thing. Oh, and the vampire tap for the other end.

We still have some thinnet at the office.

I have an ethernet cable left from connecting to our old (circa 2002) modem. I was thinking of taking it to France to connect my laptop with a DSL modem there.

Unless it's from the stone age, yes, they are universal. There were other cable types in the old days but I haven't seen any in eons.

Until the management changed I had no problem plugging my laptop into the network at the internet cafe in Shanghai.

In addition to the other responses, note that there are different categories of modern ethernet cable. (e.g., cat 5, cat 5e, cat6 and some earlier Cat3, etc. Cat=category.) The connectors are the same and for most usage you would never know the difference. However, there would be some differences for high-end applications.

All patch cables are labeled to what thier certification is, as is required by TIA specification, the cable itself says what it is, including if it is a corssover cable...

-Vincent

"Lanterra Products Type CM 24AWG 75°C (UL) E188630 CSA LL81295 CM6 ETL VERIFIED EIA/TIA-568A CAT5 61K202"

What I can see is:
1. black, blue, blue, orange
2. black, orange, blue, blue

And, yes, this is the cable that was shipped with, and used to connect our PC to, our original modem in 2002.

Phone cords may be part of a "worldwide standard" but -- unlike with ethernet cables -- I often have to deal with places in the world where the standard phone cords (like we find in the US) cannot be used without a plug head/connector adaptor.

In Sweden, for example, there are places where the telephone gets plugged in through a wall socket that looks more like a 4-point/5-point electrical plug and would not accept the standard phone cord head/connector that we plug into the walls in the US -- unless first used with a plug head/connector adaptor.