USB 3.0/3.1/3.2 Gen 1 aka the kind that can do 5 gbps can only use cables up to 3m in length. Meanwhile Ethernet uses a similar twisted pair copper cable, but can do 10 gbps over 100m.
What gives, why is USB so limited in terms of cable length?
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Think of USB as 2 people communicating without seeing each other. If person A stops talking for a period of time, person B will thing/assume person a has left or no longer wishes to talk. Moving the two people further way from each other increases the time something takes to travel between the two people, and communication starts to break down.
In reality, USB has a maximum tolerance for response times from devices in the standard, if that response time is longer then 1.5 μs, then the standard assumes something went wrong, leading to the 5m length being the maximum.
Ethernet doesn’t wait or care about responses, thus can be as long as you need, though the signal will break down over long distances, which is why repeaters exist.
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