Ethernet FAQ-Cat5e v. Cat6 v. Cat6a

GET, LLC begins a look at the world of structured cabling for computer networks such as Ethernet and other high speed networking solutions. This blog post will examine specifications for the in-demand twisted pair cable and the signals that are carried across them.

Believe it or not-CAT5 is the fifth generation of twisted pair Ethernet technology and the most popular of all twisted pair cables in use today. Cat 6 and Cat6a have followed and is backward compatible with Cat5 standards.  But while all are wildly popular with network professionals, they all pose a down side for those seeking faster network bandwidth solutions.

One of the most misinterpreted specifications that customers and installers get hung up on is the megahertz (MHz) rating on Cat5e, Cat6 and Cat6a Cable.
Search for Cat5e cable and the most common rating you will see is 350MHz. There are two things wrong with this number. The Telecommunications Industry Association and the Electronic Industries Alliance specifies the electrical characteristics for a Cat5e cable to have a 100 Mhz bandwidth. So automatically any cable advertised above this number is not following the spec.

Then why do we see this number? Some have been using this number for so long that people have come accustomed to seeing 350 MHz bandwidth, and when it is not present, they question the quality of the cable. The truth of the matter is, yes, you probably can test most Cat5e cables to 350 MHz and beyond, but it means nothing past 100 MHZ. So to say that a Cat5e 350 MHz cable is better than a Cat5e 100 MHz cable is just marketing.

In much the same way, Cat6 cable is commonly seen advertised at 500 or 550 MHz, when the actual specification calls for Cat6 cable to be up to 250Mhz.

The official bandwidth specifications are as follows: Cat5/Cat5e 100 MHz, Cat6 250 MHz, Cat6a 500 MHz. Along those same lines, there is no such thing as "Cat5a", "Cat6e" and there is no official release for Cat7 or Cat7a in the USA yet. The data transfer rate on these cables is as follows: Cat5e and Cat6 are 1 Gb/s (Gigabits per second), Cat6a is 10 Gb/s.


For more on structured cabling solutions for your respective business or building, please give GET, LLC a call at 671-797-0789 or see our website at www.get-guam.com for more details on how we can be of assistance.