Why Cat6 Plenum Cable is the best choice for networking

Cat6 Cable remains the best choice for residential as well as for business purposes. The cable is available in all three jackets for installation in specific places. Let’s take a deeper look at this amazing networking cable.

Cat6 Cable - Data Transfer Rates

The Cat6 cable was designed with the sole purpose of supporting the latest, and high-speed applications through lightning-fast data transfer rates. To date, the cable not only serves this purpose but also future-proof your network for any upgrades.

The Cat6 Cable -- be it Cat6 Plenum Cable or Cat6 Riser Cable -- transfers data at a lightning-fast rate of 10 Gbps up to distances of 164 feet or 50 meters. This is the maximum speed for the category 6th cable. As far as the minimum data transfer rates are concerned, they stand at 1 Gbps up to a distance of 328 feet or 100 meters.

Cat6 Cable - Bandwidth

Take the example of water flowing through a river. The wider the river, the more water will make its way downstream; likewise, the narrow the river, the lesser water will flow. The same is the case with the bandwidth. Cable with higher bandwidth transfers more data as compared to cables with smaller bandwidth. So, when you install ethernet cables with higher bandwidth such as Cat6 Plenum Cable in your network, you will have this overall feeling of a faster network.

The bandwidth capacity of Cat6 cable stands at 550 MHz, which is relatively higher than TIA/EIA standards. The above-industry bandwidth helps in keeping signal quality intact.

Cat6 Cable - Jacket Ratings

The Cat6 cable is available in all three jackets: riser, PVC, and plenum. Let’s take a deeper look at the properties of each.

Cat6 Plenum Cable

Cat6 Plenum 1000ft enjoys a CMP or Communications Multipurpose Cable Plenum jacket that comes with fire-retardant properties. The CMP-rated jackets of Cat6 Plenum 1000ft stop fire progression and are non-toxic (it means it does not emit smoke or gases when burning). Therefore, cables with CMP-rated jackets are installed in plenum areas of the buildings. Plenum spaces are horizontal spaces that support return airflow for conditioning and heating systems. You can install these cables in riser/vertical buildings as well as in outdoor spaces. The cable has aforesaid maximum and minimum data transfer rates as well as the bandwidth capacity.

Cat6 Riser Cable

The Cat6 Riser cable is the CMR-rated or Communications Multipurpose Cable Riser jacket that, too, comes with fire-retardant properties. The CMR-rated jackets dispel fire progression in riser or vertical areas of the buildings and emit very low smoke and no toxic gas. The CMR-rated ethernet cables can also be used for outdoor runs, however, they can’t be otherwise because of safety reasons. The cable has the same data transfer rates and bandwidth capacity as that of bulk Cat6 Plenum cable.

Cat6 PVC Cable

This premium Cat6 cable comes with a PVC jacket that is meant for installation in outdoor spaces. The PVC jackets have excellent protection against sunlight and chemicals. It is UV resistant, too. As far as bandwidth and data transfer rates are concerned, they stand the same as that of bulk Cat6 Plenum cable.

Cat6 Cable - Conductors

Cat6 cables -- be it Cat6 Plenum 1000ft or Cat6 Plenum 1000ft --comes in 2 types of conductors:

  • Copper-Clad Aluminum conductors
  • Pure Copper Conductors

Pure copper conductors cables have top-notch crosstalk and EMI characteristics. Pure copper or bare copper conductors also prevent loss of signal strength (attenuation) and convert more energy into signals to deliver your ultimate connectivity experience.

On the other hand, copper-clad aluminum conductors lag behind in crosstalk and EMI characteristics, comes with higher attenuation, and convert more energy into heat than into signals.

Cat6 Standards

The Cat6 Plenum Cable must meet the following standards: FCC, CSE, CE, ISO/IES, and RoHS. Here at Smartech Cables, our cables not only meet but exceed the aforesaid standards. The cable is sufficient for the following applications: ATM PMD 155 Mbps IEEE 802.3 Fast, Ethernet:10 Base-T, 100 Base-T4, 100 Base-X IEEE 802.5:4/16 Mbps Token Ring, ANSI X3T9.5 TP-PMD (FDDI), and IEEE 802.12:100 Base-VG.

If you want to buy Cat6 Plenum Cable for your networking needs, look no further as you have landed in the right place. Our cables come with a 10-year warranty and we offer free shipping on orders above $99.