Cat5e, Cat6, Cat7, and Cat8 are all categories of copper wire data cabling that differ in bandwidth and supported transmission speeds. Cat5e supports 1Gbps up to 100m, while Cat6 supports 10Gbps up to 55m. Cat7 supports 40Gbps at 50m but has reduced flexibility. Cat8 can support 40Gbps but only over 30m. Higher categories have more tightly wound wires and thicker shielding to support faster speeds over greater distances.

1. What is the difference betweenCat5e Cat6 Cat7 and Cat8 Cabling?
Whenit comesto Cat5e Cat6 Cat7 Cat8 data cablingit’shard to know whichcable togo for.Firstly
thisisdownto the sheervariance onoffer.Firstly thisallowsconsumerstochoose froma wide
range of grades,categoriesandspecifications.Secondlytheyall deliverunique resultsforeventhe
mostcomplicatedprojects.Therefore before youdivestraightintothe worldof datacablingit’s
probablybesttoget to gripswiththe differencesbetweenCat5e Cat6Cat7 Cat8 cables.Ratherthis
than install the wrongspecificationof cable foryourproject
How does Cat5e Cat6 Cat7 Cat8 data cabling work?
A data cable consistsof 8 copper wireswithasingle cable sheath.Thisdatacable provideselectrical
signal transmissionbetweentwodevices
The terminationendsof the datacable are standardisedtocreate a commonconnector.Especially
for all patch leads,patchpanelsanddata terminationplugs.Furthermore the highcategoriesof
cablingthese connectorshave keptthe outlineof the standardandevolvedintoadditionalcontacts
for fastertransmissionspeeds
What is data cabling usedfor?
Data cablingisusedfor connectingseparate elementsof anetworktoa common hostinghardware
such as a data switchor internetrouter.
Thisenablesthe varioushardware toaccessthe outside connectionorcommunicate withthe other
internal networkdevices.These devicesinclude,PC’s,Phones,PrintersCCTV,WiFi andmanyothers
What is voice and data cabling?
On legacysystemsthe voice anddatacablingwouldmostof the time be separate cabling
installations.Firstlythe datacablingwouldbe installedfromthe dataswitchtocomputers,Wi-Fi and
printers.Secondlythe telephoneswouldhave voice orCW1308 (BT Standard) wiringdirectlytothe
hostedtelephone system.
In the majorityof moderninstallationsthe cablingtoall unitswill be the same andterminate into
the same cabinet.Equallythe separate unitsare then“Patched”tothe relevantdataor telephone
system.Attimesthisisa sharedswitchwithinthe sharedcabinet.Thisstyle of installationwith
flexibilityisreferredtoas“StructuredCabling”
For additional informationonVoice Cablingclick Here
What is Cat5 Cabling?
One of the oldercategoriesof copperwire datacables,cat5 cablingwasadoptedas the standard
cablingchoice in1995. Consequentlythis allowed10/100 Mbps Ethernetcapabilitiesata distance
of upto 100 metres.Howeverthisnowbeensurpassedbyseveral othercategoriesof cabling
(includingcat5e withlesscrosstalkandnoise).Neverthelesscat5 isstill foundina small amountof
officesalthoughthesehave beenusuallypresentfora large numberof years.These installationsin
particularare nowveryrare

2. Cat5e thenbecame the standardand offered1Gigabitspeedswhichdeterredexistingbusinesses
fromupgradingtheircablingsystemsunlesstheywere undergoingare-fitoroffice relocation.Going
forwards,however,consumersare lookingforsomethingalittle more longtermthatcan deliver
enhancedspeedandreliability andthismovesthe cablingchoice upthroughCat6and beyond
What is Cat6 Cabling?
Cat 6 cablingwaslaunchedin2002 and,thanksto itscopperwiresbeingmore tightlywoundthan
cat 5 cables,itsoonbecame the dominantdatacable in the marketand maintainsthisposition
today.Althoughextracare isrequiredwheninstallingcat6 cablingcomparedtocat 5, the benefits
easilyoutweighthe additional installationtime andminorbudgetincrease.Findingpopularityin
audioand visual niches,cat6 cablingcan alsoboast GigabitEthernetata distance of 100m and10
GigabitEthernetupto 55m. Howeverasall data cablingstandardsare usuallydesignedat
90m/100m the choice for10 GigabitEthernetisCat6a and upwards
For the past 5 -10 yearsthe choice to ‘future proof’yournetworkhasbeenCat6cabling.Cat6 is
backwardscompatible withcat5 cabling,sothere’snoneedto completelydismantleyourexisting
networksandyoucan still maintainyourexistinghardware
Is it worth upgrading from Cat5e to Cat6?
For the majorityof standardcommercial office installations,newlyinstalledcablingisrecommended
to be a minimumof cat6 cabling.HoweverCat5e andCat6 cablingare verysimilarinthe
transmissionspeeds.Comparativelytheyachieveasimple result soupgradingyourCat5e networkto
a Cat6 networkwill notalwaysmake muchof a difference.Insteadthe maindifference isyouwill be
able to achieve 10Gigconnectionsof outletsunder55min length.
Therefore whenupgradingthe considerationshouldbe upgradingfromcat5e directlytoCat6a as a
minimum.
For newinstallationsCat6isstill arecommendationwhen10gigis nota requirementandinsome
costs forcost purposesCat5e is alsostill installedinseveral commercial spaces
Cat6a, Cat7, Cat8 and beyond
Due to the increasingimplementationof 10Gigabitnetworkswithinthe workplace innotonly
backbone linksbutalso10Gig to the deskthe legacycablingsystemsof Cat5e and Cat6 are now
phasingoutin newerinstallations.BycomparisonCat6ais becomingthe new standardandabove.
10gig is discussedinmore detail HERE
What is Cat6a Cabling?
Cat6a hasdouble the bandwidthof Cat6witha bandwidthof 500MHz whereasCat6has a
bandwidthof 250MHz
Thisstandard of cable isalso ratifiedfor10 gigabitEthernetspeedsoverthe standarddistance of
90m withpatch leadsand100m for directlinks

3. What is Cat7 cabling?
Cat7 isdifferentfromitspredecessorsthankstoitsmuchthickerlayerof shielding.Bycomparison
cat 7 cablesreduce the deteriorationof datatransmissionsandcantransmit40Gb at 50 metresand
even100Gb at 15 metres.Therefore thesespeedsmake cat7 cablesperfectforhome installsthat
incorporate numeroussmartdevices.However,due tothe additional shielding,cat7 cablesare
much thickerthancat 5 and 6 cables.Inthissituationtheyhave reducedflexibilityandare less
suitable forcommercial installationsatthisstage. Anotherdrawbackwithcat 7 cablingisthat,
comparedto cat 5 and 6 cabling,itlackstotal backwardscompatibility.
Unlike Cat6a itsusage requiresancertainsectionof overhaul of existingnetworksdue tousing
differentpatchleadsandconnectors.LegacyCat6a and below patchleadscan be pluggedintothe
Cat7 outletsbutthisreducesthe overall linkscapacitytothe lowestcategorydenominator.Inthis
situationyouare payingfora systemthat’snotperformingtoitsmaximum
Cat 8 Cabling
Although notcommonlyseeninthe commercial environmentandmainlyonlyindatacentres.Even
so Cat 8 cablingisbeingdevelopedincreasinglyrapidlyandhasalreadyachievedtransferspeeds
that hit40Gbps and a bandwidthcapabilityof 2000MHz. However,due toitschannel length,cat8
cableshave a 30m limitandare unable to maintain40Gbpsoverlongerdistances.Inthatcase it
makesitdifficulttoincorporate cat8 cablesintolongstretcheswithinlarge networks.Inthis
situation,cat8 cablingismore recommendedforconnectingshortdistancesinnetworks.
We offerfree surveysandduringthese surveyswe will be able todiscussthose requirementsand
offeryouthe bestsolution
About NM CablingSolutions - NetworkCabling Specialist
NMCablingisa technologyandstructuredcablingintegratorworkingthroughoutthe United
Kingdom.
We have createda comprehensive KnowledgeCentre forourindustrywhichcanbe viewed
at https://www.nmcabling.co.uk/knowledge-centre/