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While cleaning out our back yard shed, I came across a coil of cable of a kind that I have never seen before (image below). It was left here by the previous home owner, who worked in some kind of technical field.

It has some unusual features. Other than the fact that it has two pairs (blue, blue/white, orange, orange/white), the pairs are not twisted, and it's wrapped in a shield that is much more rigid than foil, more like thin copper (also below).

There are also what look like three streamers or tracers, two red and one blue, plus a string. The jacket is very thick, suggesting it's an underground cable. And one more thing: it's filled with some kind of grease, maybe silicone?

The jacket has some markings. One is "WE-B 2 PAIR." I did a search for that and couldn't come up with anything. Other markings are numbers, printed in vertical every two feet along the cable: 422238, 422240, 422242, etc., which obviously refers to a length measurement.

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    \$\begingroup\$ This site is not a forum but a question and answer site. The cable is an underground telephone cable for two telephones. Standard residential drop. \$\endgroup\$
    – RussellH
    Commented Sep 27, 2022 at 22:35
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Andyaka "Inquiring minds want to know" - I'D want to know if I didn't know already. I have note seen identical here in NZ BUT long ago I I worked for Telecom NZ as an engineer and the colour scheme immediately cried out to me across the decades :-). I'd very very strongly suggest that the thought that this question is opinion based is very fallacious and suggestions along those lines should really not be entertained. \$\endgroup\$
    – Russell McMahon ♦
    Commented Sep 27, 2022 at 23:49
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Andyaka re "Why is it important to identify the cable? Do you think it has some value other than scrap copper?" --> For many people (like me) cable like this would be considered to have far more value in the 'resource box' that the small amount that it would return as scrap. Some tidy people don't think that way. Untidy people(such as me) certainly do. I have large quantities of cables of many different types eagerly waiting the day when they might be put to good use. Some even mnage :-). \$\endgroup\$
    – Russell McMahon ♦
    Commented Sep 27, 2022 at 23:59
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Andyaka - Just curiosity. What especially caught my interest was the grease inside the cable. I have never seen anything like that before. \$\endgroup\$
    – Bill Norman
    Commented Sep 28, 2022 at 0:25
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    \$\begingroup\$ The heavy copper shield is resistance to vibrations encountered in many underground applications, especially in cities under roadways. It does limit the bend radius. Moisture can penetrate many sheathing materials especially over the long time period that these are expected to function. The grease serves to prevent moisture and oxygen ingress to the cable even in the presence of high groundwater. \$\endgroup\$
    – RussellH
    Commented Sep 28, 2022 at 0:56

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