CAT6

Cat6 is a copper cabling standard used for Ethernet networks. It belongs to the Category 6 family and is designed to support frequencies up to 250 MHz. The standard is defined by ANSI/TIA-568-C.2 and ISO/IEC 11801, and it uses four twisted pairs of copper conductors with a characteristic impedance of 100 ohms. Cat6 cables are commonly terminated with RJ-45 connectors and come in unshielded (UTP) and shielded (FTP/STP) variants.

In performance terms, Cat6 enables 1 Gbps Ethernet (1000BASE-T) over distances up to 100 meters. It also supports 10 Gbps Ethernet (10GBASE-T) but only over shorter runs, typically up to 55 meters depending on installation quality and environmental factors. The higher frequency and tighter pair twists in Cat6 reduce crosstalk and improve signal integrity compared with earlier categories. Some Cat6 cables include a spline or separator to further reduce near-end cross-talk, though this is not universally required.

Construction and variants vary. Conductors are typically 23 AWG copper, with jackets made of PVC or low-smoke zero-halogen materials. Cat6 cables are available as unshielded, shielded, or shielded with foil and braided shields to mitigate external interference. They are backward compatible with Cat5 and Cat5e infrastructures and are compatible with standard RJ-45 jacks.

Applications include home networks, office networks, and data centers where higher performance is desired without moving to Cat6a. They support Power over Ethernet (PoE) and PoE+ in many installations, enabling powered devices to operate over the same cabling used for data. Cat6 offers a balance of performance, cost, and compatibility suitable for a wide range of network deployments.