Is there any advantage at all to use coax vs cat 5e in an area that has "allegedly" been hit several times before by lightning? I am dealing with an IT Director for a health facility who has twice before installed his own IP cameras. When both systems went down he blamed lightning. Others involved are skeptical that lightning was the problem and no one investigated to be sure. The only proof he has is the fact that the system stopped working during a storm and he has an RJ45 blacked out. (I have seen water get into a cable through a pin prick in the jacket and fill the cable. Then the water made it's way to the POE port and shorted it out.) The IT Director is pushing the Board to not consider an IP option due to this. He claims it will not work even with measures taken to decrease the risk of lightning damage. He also claims to have installed several cameras in the area on coax with no issues. I believe it is probably due to a faulty install or maybe even the IP cameras were not damaged at all but he assumed they were. I am pushing an IP system here due to the size of the complex, number of buildings, and options they are looking for.
So, is coax less susceptible to lightning than Cat 5e?