Here we look at what is Cat6 cabling. We also look at where Cat6 is preferred over its older or newer cabling choices cat5e and cat6a.

1. What is Cat6 cabling?
Category6 cable containsfourtwistedwire pairsandallowsfrequenciesupto250 MHz. It isusedin
100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T (GigabitEthernet),10GBASE-T(10-GigabitEthernet) applications.
Cat6 alsosupports10GBASE-T applicationsoverthe traditional limitsof coppercabling.Thisismade
possible withall fourwiresworkingtogethertohandle the signal insteadof justtwo,whichcanbe
foundinCat5e cable . It usesthe same RJ45 connectoras Cat5e.
However,Cat6can onlytransmit10 GigabitEthernetupto a maximumof 55m rather thanthe
standard90 metresof Cat6a and above.
What is Cat6 cabling usedfor?
Cat6 isusedfornetworking,datatransfer,andphone lines.Cat6can supportspeedsupto 10Gbit/s
so ithas plentyof roomto grow as technologychangesandevolves.
What are the specsfor Cat6 Cable?
Wire Gauge: 23 AWG
Shielding:100% AluminiumMylarfoil withtinnedcopperbraid
Impedance:100 Ohm
Cat6 Pair Colours
Cat6 Cable follow the standardof all othertwistedpaircableswith8Strands;Individuallytwisted
Four Pairsof WiresInside.
The pairs fora standardCat6 cable basedonthe EIA568 standard are as follows
1. White/Orange
2. SolidOrange
3. White/Green
4. SolidBlue
5. White/Blue
6. SolidGreen
7. White/Brown
8. SolidBrown
What are the differenttypesofCat6 Cable?
You may come across three differenttypesof Cat6cable whenlookingaround;
1. UTP (unshieldedtwistedpair),
2. FTP (foiledtwistedpair)
3. SFTP (screenedfoil twistedpair).
A lotof industriesspecifyusingFTPwhenworkingwithnetworkingcables.Thisisbecause itoffers
betterprotectionfromEMI (electrical magneticinterference) andRFI(radiofrequencyinterference).

2. Unshieldedtwistedpair(UTP), isthe mostcommonlyinstalledcable inthe UKwhichconsistof four
pairsof wiresinside aplasticsheathtoprotectthem.
However,manyindustriesandcountrieswill specifyadifferentcable dependingonthe transmission
requirementsandthe surroundinginterference.
Cat6 Connector
A Category6 cable connectoris inmanyways similartothat of a Cat5e connector.Theyare both
made up of eightpins,tomatch the 568A or 568B terminationstandards.Colourcodingonmodules,
jacksand patch panelswill be tomatchthe cable to ensure transmissionisconsistentendtoend.
The RJ45 Cat6 Connectoristhe 8-pinmodularjack foundincomputernetworkingdevices.Thiscan
be the inputportof a PC,Telephone,Television,CCTV Cameraormany othernetworkdevice.
Maximumlength ofCat6 cabling
All twistedpaircoppercablingare ratifiedtoastandardbasedon a 90m permanentlinkfrom
cabinetto useroutlet.5mpatch leadsare thenallowedeachendtoconnectto the devices.
However,if youdecide tohave longerpatchleadconnectionsateitherenditwill resultinhavingto
install the cable inthe permanentrealmbelow 90m.
An industrystandardcablingtestersuchasa Fluke DSXwill calculate these elementsandconfirm
witha GreenTick or RedCross whetherthatlinkpassesthe requiredstandards.Thisthenconfirmsif
your technologytransmissionare attheirmostefficient.
UTP vs STP
UnshieldedTwistedPair(UTP) andShieldedTwistedPair(STP) Cable are verysimilarinnature
Howevershieldedcable featuresanadditional layerof shieldingaroundeachbunchof wiresoreach
individualpairof wires.Thus,providinganadditional shieldagainstelectrical,radioorexternal
interference andelectrical noise.
The additional shieldingincreasesthe overall diameterof the STPcable andalsothe bendradiusfor
installation.Therefore,lessSTPcablescanbe installedinthe same containmentcomparedtoUTP.
About NM CablingSolutions - NetworkCabling Specialist
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