The amount of energy that a signal loses as it travels along a cable link used to be referred to as attenuation.The longer the cable, the greater the attenuation. For network cabling, standards now more correctly use the term “insertion loss” which refers to the loss of the signal strength at the far end of a link and includes the attenuation caused by the cable and any connection points along the way (i.e., connectors and splices), as well as any signal lost to reflections of the signal. Despite this correction in terminology, the limits, test procedures and requirements have not changed.
Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.flukenetworks.com