There’s no getting around the fact that wireless or Wi-Fi internet is convenient. Thanks to such technology, you can enjoy internet access anytime and anywhere. It can’t get any more helpful than it is, given that most people access the internet via mobile.
But despite Wi-Fi being widespread, the internet-driven society still sees use for ethernet patch cables. You may not be able to plug them into a mobile device unless you use an adapter, but a personal computer or laptop will benefit more from it than Wi-Fi. For starters, passing data through a wired connection is less prone to interference than a wireless one.
The industry has made eight categories of ethernet cabling, but this blog will only focus on two, Cat5 and Cat6, for two reasons. First, they’re widely used in households and some businesses. Second, the more advanced Cat7 and Cat8 cables are overkill and aren’t widely available, and the rest have been phased out.
Transmission Speed
If there’s one thing Cat5 and Cat6 cables have in common, they’re made with twisted copper wire. Manufacturers still prefer copper over fibre optics because of its ductility, abundance and low cost.
However, Cat6 cables support faster transmission speeds because their copper wiring is wound more tightly. They can reach up to 10 Gbps, assuming the distance between sender and receiver is no more than 55 metres. Its augmented variant, Cat6a, supports the same speeds more or less but has twice more bandwidth.
Meanwhile, Cat5 cables can only support speeds of up to 100 Mbps. In response to the growing internet speeds, the industry released the enhanced Cat5e cable in 2001 with a higher maximum transmission speed of 1 Gbps. A Cat 5e patch cable also has the same bandwidth as the Cat5e at 100 MHz, far less than 250 MHz in Cat6.
An important caveat before moving on: switching to a Cat6 cable from a Cat5 won’t necessarily improve your internet speed. For instance, a Cat6 cable will only transmit up to 100 Mbps if your internet plan can only provide that much.
Shielding
While ethernet cables may not suffer from the same forms of interference as Wi-Fi, they aren’t entirely immune. Inside a cable are several pairs of twisted pair wiring, a technology that dates back to the invention of the telephone in 1876. It reduces a wire’s likelihood of being affected by external noise, but crosstalk can still occur.
Crosstalk occurs when signals from one cable interfere with the signals from the other, resulting in their deterioration while travelling. The nature of interference can either be capacitive (caused by an electrostatic field) or inductive (caused by an electromagnetic field).
Shielding the wires is a common approach to reducing crosstalk incidence, usually with a thin layer of foil. Unfortunately, while some shielded variants exist, most Cat5 cables are unshielded from crosstalk. In addition, Cat5e cables offer some protection as they adhere to stricter design standards.
Patch cables Cat6 have shielding, but it has several downsides. The protective layer bulks up the cable’s cross-section, making it larger and trickier to install in enclosed spaces. Additionally, the layer reduces the cable’s flexibility.
Cost Per Metre
So far, Cat6 has proven better than Cat5 in transmission speed, interference resistance and use in future networks. But as with most things you buy, quality comes at a premium.
The additional materials and more stringent design standards drive the cost of Cat6 cables by a wide margin. One of the shielded Cat6 cables in stock costs AUD$5.80 per metre, compared to the unshielded Cat5e cable at just AUD$2.80 per metre.
It’s also worth noting that signal quality degrades with distance. Most cables are designed to maintain acceptable signal quality up to 100 metres, though some manufacturers recommend against exceeding 60 metres. Whether it’s a Cat5 or Cat6, this phenomenon is inevitable.
Then again, the cost may not become an issue in the next several years. With global internet speeds for fixed and mobile on the rise and improved manufacturing methods, Cat6 may soon become a staple. Moreover, there aren’t that many retailers selling Cat5 cables anymore.
Key Takeaways
These two ethernet cables are worlds apart, and Cat6 cables are the clear winners in almost every aspect. In the end, it boils down to what you really need.
Given their limitations, Cat5 cables and their variants still see use in households due to their low cost. Unless a house has many members using the internet all at once, these cables usually meet such needs. On the other hand, Cat6 cables will serve their needs better for more intense network environments like businesses.
If you’re ready to buy your ethernet cables, head to this page. We offer a selection of quality Cat5e, Cat6 and Cat6a shielded and unshielded data cables.