Comment by laughinghan

I think they mean out of ethernet-cables-that-are-usable-to-get-network-access. So there's loose cables aplenty, but a shortage of cables that work in the sense of the far end being plugged in, due to a shortage of ports.

From the perspective of a student walking into the room with their laptop, that's a shortage of cable-ends that they can plug into their laptop to gain network access.