Types of Data Cables

Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a, Cat7

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Data Cable Type
Ethernet cables Chart Title

We use Data cables in our office and home. Also

called as Ethernet cables, these cables have
seen a major transformation capable of carrying
huge amounts of data. Data Cables can be
divided into different categories with each
category having certain strengths and
weaknesses. Each category offers different data
transmitting speeds, electromagnetic shield,
frequency range, and gauge size (SWG or AWG).
Let’s discuss these cable types in details.
Category 5 Category 5a Category 6 Category 6a Category 7

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Cat 5e Cable
• Category 5e cabling, also known as Cat5, is an older type
of network cabling.
• Cat5E cable is the Enhanced version of Cat5. It became
the standard cable about 15 years ago and offers
significantly improved performance over the old Cat5
cable, including up to 10 times faster speeds. Offers
significantly greater ability to traverse distances without
being impacted by crosstalk.
• Cat5e was made to support 1000 Mbps "gigabit" speeds
• Cat5e is capable of Gigabit Ethernet up to 100 meters
upto up to 100 MHz performance. 3
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Cat 6 Cable
• Currently the most popular and widely used network cable
• Cat6 is capable of 10 Gigabit speed upto a distance of
around 50 meters (164ft). After this distance, the rate
drops to 1 Gigabit – the same as is possible with Cat5e.
• Cat6: up to 250 MHz performance
• Cat6 cables have more stringent criteria regarding both
crosstalk and system noise. Cat6 cables also use a nylon
spline, which helps to eliminate crosstalk and boost
performance, too

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Cat 6a Cable
• Category 6a cabling is the next step up from Cat6 and
includes a few more improvements.
• CAT6A is capable of supporting data transfer rates of up to
10Gbps at a maximum bandwidth of 500MHz.
• Cat6a: up to 500 MHz performance
• Cat6a is heavy and bulky and therefore difficult to install in
the conduits and cable trays.
• CAT6A supports wireless systems that rely on 10Gig and
therefore recommended for new installations for
Healthcare, Education, Logistics and other industries.

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Cat 7 Cable
• With compatible network hardware, Cat7 can operate at
up to 40Gbps at distances up to 50m, and 10Gbps at
lengths up to 100m.
• Cat6a: up to 600MHz-1GHz MHz performance
• Cat7 has stricter specs for crosstalk (interference between
conductors) and to achieve Shielding has been added for
individual wire pairs on the Category 7 cable.
• Category 7/Class F cable can be terminated with two
interface designs as specified in IEC 6063-7-7 and IEC
61076-3-104. One is an RJ-45 compatible GG-45 connector.

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DATA CABLE Specs
Here is a graphical summary of all the different
ethernet cable types and their features
Max Data Transmission
CATEGORY CABLE TYPE MAX BANDWIDTH LENGTH
Speed

Cat 5 UTP 10/ 100 Mbps 100 MHz 100 METERS

Cat 5e UTP 1000 Mbps 100 MHz 100 METERS

Cat 6 UTP/STP 1000 Mbps 250 MHz 100 METERS

Cat 6a STP 10,000 Mbps 500 MHz 55 METERS

Cat 7 SSTP 10,000 Mbps 600 MHz 15 METERS

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So Which Cable Should You Use?

Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a or Cat7?

• Over the years, Category 6 (CAT6) cable have become a basic requirement for new
buildings in order to support Gigabit network applications and support bandwidths
of up to 250MHz. Category 6A (CAT6A) which supports data rates of 10G up to 100
metres and a bandwidth of up to 500MHz has begun to grow in popularity. Cat 7
and above are still in the nascent stage of development but will take over quickly
as further improvement takes place in their development and production. Don’t go
for an overkill and on the same time, do consider future bandwidth usage. Factor
in all your requirements including bandwidth usage, environment and budget
before going for a particular Cable type. If you are still unsure, contact our team of
expert Data Cabling techs for expert advice.

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 About Us
CABLIFY CABLING

• Cablify Cabling is a leading

structured cabling expert having a
team of highly experienced and
certified Data and Fiber optic techs
specializing in low voltage cabling
across Canada and USA.
• Data, Fiber and Security Solutions.

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 Thank You.
Cablify - Data and Fiber optic Cabling Experts
1-877-855-3865
info@cablify.ca
www.cablify.ca

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