CAT6a vs CAT6 vs CAT5e

Network cable technology keeps improving with new standards introduced for the cabling of your network sockets. This is a brief overview of the options for your network cabling, based on our extensive experience.

Also, if the project a new building or as part of a refurbishment scheme, you will also need to consider CPR (= Construction Products Regulation) with special attention to the cable outer sheath.

We provide advice and priced options to help you choose the most appropriate solution, for your requirements and budgets.


Top Tip: Be aware of copper clad aluminium (CCA) cable, although tested in a laboratory it will result in future issues!

CAT6a

We provide CAT6a connections for high speed (5/10 Gbps) devices (normally SmartRate multi-gigabit APs and servers) although this technology has also been beneficial for clients transmitting high quality images.

As CAT6a is the bulkiest of cables and requires care when planning routes and it must be fitted carefully to ensure the performance is achieved.

CAT6

CAT6 has been adopted as our standard for general network cabling.

The size is due to the construction including a greater use of copper, thus improving transmission of PoE, especially over longer lengths.

If you are utilising green technology within your network switches (that reduce the power to ports based on the quality of the connection), CAT6 technology is ideal as there is less signal loss than CAT5e alternative.

CAT5e

This is the most common legacy cable grade, providing Gigabit Ethernet support at the lowest cost.  It is also the easiest cable to fit and terminate correctly, so reduces the risk of problems.

Devices are supported for total distances (including leads) of up to 100m, although for better functionality, especially when requiring support for power (wireless & CCTV), we recommend CAT6.

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