Cat6 Ethernet Cable

Cat6 (Category 6) Ethernet cable is a twisted pair cable defined by TIA/EIA-568-B.2-5 and ISO/IEC 11801 Class E. It has a bandwidth of 250 MHz - twice the 100 MHz of Cat5e - and supports Gigabit Ethernet (1 Gbps) up to 100 m. Cat6 uses 23 AWG or 24 AWG solid copper conductors, a tighter twist than Cat5e to control crosstalk, and improved NEXT (near-end crosstalk) and ACR (attenuation-to-crosstalk ratio) specifications at 250 MHz. It is the recommended minimum category for all new structured cabling installations.

Cat5e has 100 MHz bandwidth and 1 Gbps up to 100 m, costing less but with no headroom above Gigabit. Cat6 has 250 MHz bandwidth, 1 Gbps up to 100 m, better NEXT/ACR at higher frequencies and more headroom for future protocols - it is the sweet spot for new office installs. Cat6a has 500 MHz bandwidth and 10 Gbps up to 100 m, but costs about 50–70% more than Cat6 and requires 23 AWG. Use Cat5e only for budget retrofits, Cat6 for most new offices, and Cat6A for data centres, PoE++ (60/95 W) and future 10 Gbps needs.

Cat6 Ethernet cable is most commonly UTP (unshielded twisted pair), which is perfectly adequate for offices and environments without strong electromagnetic interference. FTP (foil shield with drain wire) and SFTP (foil plus braid shield) versions are also available for installations near machinery, power cables, broadcast equipment or industrial environments where EMI would otherwise degrade performance. Unlike Cat7 and Cat8, Cat6 does not require shielding to meet its performance specification.

Yes, Cat6 Ethernet cable is fully PoE and PoE+ ready. PoE (IEEE 802.3af, 15.4 W per port) and PoE+ (IEEE 802.3at, 30 W per port) work on Cat5e and above, and Cat6 is a reliable choice because its lower resistance and tighter twist keep the temperature rise well within the PoE limits. For PoE++ (60 W on 4-pair) and especially PoE++ (95 W), Cat6a is recommended because the higher power density generates more heat and Cat6a has better thermal margins.

CM is the general-purpose rating for horizontal concealed runs in wall cavities and floors, tested to UL 1685. CMR is the riser rating for vertical runs between floors in riser shafts, tested to the more severe UL 1666 riser flame test. CMP is the plenum rating for installation in air-handling plenum spaces above ceilings, tested to UL 910 Steiner tunnel for both flame spread and smoke density - it is the most restrictive and most expensive. Always match the cable rating to where it will run in the building code.

For most office and campus LANs, UTP is enough - the spline does most of the crosstalk work. Pick FTP (overall foil) when the cable runs near mains power, lifts or motors. Pick SFTP (foil plus pair braiding) for data centres, server rooms and heavy EMI industrial floors. We make all three constructions.