I was reading a similar question about cables here which claimed the max length you'd be able to use a CAT5 ethernet cable at would be 2.5km. Is there a rating of ethernet cable that would work well up to 5km? It looks as though fiber optic is used frequently for super long distance however I don't think that will work in my case as I'm unsure how the laser that produces the light impulse will fair under conditions. Additionally to communicate up to 5km would I need a special transmitter? And is the limiting factor noise, latency or something else?
I apologize if my questions are self evident but if I try to follow other sources from the initial link I quickly get lost.
Thanks for the help!