Lightning-generated high currents and radiated electromagnetic pulses are major causes of communication cable malfunctions. The lightning coupling effects of cables are influenced by multiple factors

including the installation height

the routing configuration

and the relative position to the lightning strike point

which directly determine the interference immunity of system. Therefore

it is of great significance to understand the transient response of cables to lightning under different conditions. A steel platform with communication cables was built at the experiment site on Leizhou Peninsula

Guangdong Province

China. By using rocket-triggered lightning

strikes were triggered to various locations

including a launch tower above the platform (direct strike) and a nearby substation (close-up strike). Synchronous measurements captured transient responses of two 22-meter double-shielded six-core communication cables (one on the ground

the other on the platform) under different deployment and strike conditions

along with lightning channel luminosity

lighting current and radiated electromagnetic field signals. Results show that direct strikes induce bipolar voltage waveforms in both cables

dominated by negative peaks during the return-stroke stage. The ground cable exhibits higher peaks (0.77~1.09 kV) and shorter rise times (0.82~0.98 μs)

while the platform cable shows slower attenuation. For the close-up strike

changes in lightning current dispersion reverse cable voltage polarity with reduced peaks

with the ground cable still having higher peaks. Correlation analysis reveals that

during return-stroke stages

cable voltage peaks have a sublinear relationship with magnetic field and luminosity peaks

and a superlinear relationship with lightning channel current peaks and current change rate peaks. For both direct and close-up strikes

the potential difference caused by ground potential rise dominates cable transient responses. Different strike locations affect the cable voltage polarity and intensity primarily by altering current dispersion paths. These findings provide experimental references for evaluating the transient response of communication cables under actual lightning environments.