A patch cable, or patch lead, is a short and flexible coaxial cable designed to connect a larger feeder cable to a user device, or connecting between adjacent RF components.

In the case of 4G-5G mobile broadband, traditionally modems used either a TS-9 or CRC9 connector. These were simple, push-on RF interfaces which provided reasonably good performance up to about 3 GHz, making them suitable for basic 3G and 4G devices. Industrial 4G-5G modems use the more robust SMA connector as the larger thread-on / screw-on interfacing provides far more mechanical durability.