Cat6 Cable Speeds

Cat5 cable is the cheapest of the three types listed here.

Cat6 cable speeds.

The a stands for augmented and is a nod to cat6a s improved specifications compared with its predecessor the category 6 or cat6 cable. The cat6a doubles data transmission bandwidth from 250 to 500 mhz. As a means of future proofing your network cat6 is generally a better choice and worth the small premium in price. For 10gbase t speeds the maximum cable length is 55 meters.

An enhanced version of cat 6 called cat 6a supports up to 10 gbps speeds. And provides superior reliability and transmission. A cat6 cable is similar to a cat5 ethernet cable it consists of four pairs of twisted copper wire. Category 6 cable cat 6 is a standardized twisted pair cable for ethernet and other network physical layers that is backward compatible with the category 5 5e and category 3 cable standards.

Decreases the chance of crosstalk interference. The cable is identified as cat 6 by printed text along the insulation sheath. However as one would expect it does not perform as well as cat5e or cat6 cable but may be sufficient for slower internet speeds at your home. Cat6e or enhanced cat6.

Cat5e and cat6 cables are both backwards. Cat6 cable is otherwise called category 6 ethernet cable. The category 6a or cat6a cable is the latest iteration of gigabit ethernet cabling. It consists of four pairs of copper wire which supports up to 10 gbps of ethernet connection.

However it provides you with much more functionality. Normally it supports a maximum transmission speed up to 1 gbps within 100m. A cat6 cable has a bandwidth capacity of 250 mhz for example and it offers you speeds of up to 10 gbps. The one major caveat of cat6 cables is that installation can be tricky as compatibility with 8p8c requires the use of special adapter pieces for optimal performance.

That speed comes with a price however as cat 6 cables are more expensive than cat 5 and cat 5e variants. Cat 6 has to meet more stringent specifications for crosstalk and system noise than cat 5 and cat 5e. Just because you have cat 6 cable doesn t mean you have 1 gb network speeds either. Category 5 cable was revised and mostly replaced with category 5 enhanced.

While cat6 cable supports 37 55 meters depending on crosstalk when transmitting at a speed of 10 gbps. Every connection in your network needs to support the 1 gb speed and in some cases the connection will need to be told in software to use the available speed. Cat 6 cables technically support speeds up to 10gbps but only do so for up to 55 meters. For business networks or gigabit internet service cat5 support these services as well as the other two categories.