What is the difference between Cat5e, Cat6,

Cat6a, Cat7 or Cat8 Cabling?

• Published on April 17, 2020

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Josh White CNIDP

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When it comes to data cabling it’s difficult to argue against copper wire as the best material
to go for. And this is down to the sheer variance on offer which allows consumers to choose
from a wide range of grades, categories and specs that all deliver unique results for even the
most complicated projects. Before you dive straight into the world of data cabling, however,
it’s probably best to get to grips with the differences between cat 5/6/7/8 cables.

How does data cabling work?

A data cable consists of 8 copper wires with a single cable sheath. This data cable provides
electrical signal transmission between two devices

The termination ends of the data cable are standardised to create a common connector for all
patch leads, patch panels and data termination plugs. In the high categories of cabling these
connectors have kept the outline of the standard and evolved into additional contacts for
faster transmission speeds

What is data cabling used for?

Data cabling is used for connecting separate elements of a network to a common hosting
hardware such as a data switch our internet router.

This enables the various hardware to access the outside connection or communicate with the
other internal network devices. These devices include, PC’s, Phones, Printers CCTV, WiFi
and many others
What is voice and data cabling?

On legacy systems the voice and data cabling would most of the time be spate cabling
installations. The data cabling would be installed from the data switch to computers, Wi-Fi
and printers and the telephones would have voice or CW1308 (BT Standard) wiring directly
to the hosted telephone system.

In the majority of installation now the cabling to all units will be the same and terminate into
the same cabinet. The separate units are then “Patched” to the relevant data or telephone
system (sometimes this is a shared switch) within the shared cabinet. This style of installation
with flexibility is referred to as “Structured Cabling”

What is Cat5 Cabling?

One of the older categories of copper wire data cables, cat 5 cabling was adopted as the
standard cabling choice in 1995 and allowed 10/100 Mbps Ethernet capabilities at a distance
of up to 100 metres. Having now been surpassed by several other categories of cabling
(including cat 5e with less crosstalk and noise), cat 5 still is found in a small amount of
offices where they have been present for a large number of years. These installations however
are now very rare

Cat5e then became the standard and offered 1 Gigabit speeds which deterred existing
businesses from upgrading their cabling systems unless they were undergoing a re-fit or
office relocation. Going forwards, however, consumers are looking for something a little
more long term that can deliver enhanced speed and reliability and this moves the cabling
choice up through Cat6 and beyond

What is Cat6 Cabling?

Cat 6 cabling was launched in 2002 and, thanks to its copper wires being more tightly wound
than cat 5 cables, it soon became the dominant data cable in the market and maintains this
position today. Although extra care is required when installing cat 6 cabling compared to cat
5, the benefits easily outweigh the additional installation time and minor budget increase.
Finding popularity in audio and visual niches, cat 6 cabling can also boast Gigabit Ethernet at
a distance of 100m and 10 Gigabit Ethernet up to 55m. However as all data cabling standards
are usually designed at 90m/100m the choice for 10 Gigabit Ethernet is Cat6a and upwards

For the past 5 -10 years the choice to ‘future proof’ your network has been Cat6 cabling. Cat6
is backwards compatible with cat 5 cabling, so there’s no need to completely dismantle your
existing networks and you can still maintain your existing hardware

Is it worth upgrading from Cat5e to Cat6?

For the majority of standard commercial office installations, newly installed cabling is
recommended to be a minimum of cat6 cabling. However Cat5e and Cat6 cabling are very
similar in the transmission speeds that they achieve so upgrading your Cat5e network to a
cat6 network will not make much of a difference. The main difference is you will be able to
achieve 10Gig connections of outlets under 55m in length.
Therefore when upgrading the consideration should be upgrading from cat5e directly to
Cat6a as a minimum.

For new installations Cat6 is still a recommendation when 10 gig is not a requirement and in
some costs for cost purposes Cat5e is also still installed in several commercial spaces

Cat6a, Cat7, Cat8 and beyond

Due to the increasing implementation of 10 Gigabit networks within the workplace in not
only backbone links but also 10Gig to the desk the legacy cabling systems of Cat5e and Cat6
are now phasing out in newer installations

What is Cat6a Cabling?

Cat6a has double the bandwidth of Cat6 with a bandwidth of 500MHz in comparison to that
of 250MHz in standard Cat6

This standard of cable is also ratified for 10 gigabit Ethernet speeds over the standard
distance of 90m with patch leads and 100m for direct links

What is Cat7 cabling?

Notably different to its predecessors thanks to its much thicker layer of shielding, cat 7 cables
reduce the deterioration of data transmissions and can transmit 40Gb at 50 metres and even
100Gb at 15 metres. These speeds make cat 7 cables perfect for home installs that incorporate
numerous smart devices. However, due to the additional shielding, cat 7 cables are much
thicker than cat 5 and 6 cables, so they have reduced flexibility and are less suitable for
commercial installations at this stage. Another drawback with cat 7 cabling is that, unlike cat
5 and 6 cabling, it lacks total backwards compatibility and its usage requires an certain
section of overhaul of existing networks due to using different patch leads and connectors.
Legacy Cat6a and below patch leads can be plugged into the Cat7 outlets but this reduces the
overall links capacity to the lowest category denominator

Cat 8 Cabling

Although not commonly seen in the commercial environment and mainly only in data centres
Cat 8 cabling is being developed increasingly rapidly and has already achieved transfer
speeds that hit 40Gbps and a bandwidth capability of 2000MHz. However, due to its channel
length, cat 8 cables have a 30m limit and are unable to maintain 40Gbps over longer
distances. This makes it difficult to incorporate cat 8 cables into long stretches within large
networks. Instead, cat 8 cabling is more recommended for connecting short distances in
networks.