Cat5e

Whether you are cabling for a new building, adding additional network drops, or doing a remodel where your data cabling will be exposed, it is important to plan and budget for the right cabling upfront. Not to meet the needs of today, but to meet your needs well into the future.

Cat5e is very much the standard in network data cabling even in 2018. A tenfold improvement over Cat5, It offers data transfer rates of up to 1000 megabits per second (or 1 Gigabit per second) at up to 328 feet due to the tighter twisting of each additional pair of wires contained within the jacket which helps to attenuate crosstalk. Cat5e is well understood, easy to work with, and affordable. For most small business applications Cat5e cable will suffice, but as the demands of our data consumption and usage continue to grow at an exponential rate, this may not always be the case.

Costs vary by brand and generally a higher cost correlates with a higher quality product. Buying the cheapest cable out there is probably not the best idea when budgeting and planning for your network. Construction and build quality issues can wreak havoc on your installation, and the cost savings rarely if ever outweigh the pain of the possible issues following installation

Cat6

Cat6 is the gold standard in data network cable today. Improving further upon the design of Cat5e, Cat6 allows for data transfer rates of up to 10 Gigabits per second at up to approximately 180 feet. These speeds are achieved by even more twists per inch per pair than Cat5e, and the addition of a plastic crosstalk divider in the center of the jacket that separates each of the four pairs.

Greater care must be taken during the installation and termination of Cat6 to ensure that the full potential of this cable can be achieved. The use of Cat6 data jacks and Cat6 patch panels is also necessary when using cat 6 if you want to be able to realize the cables full potential, but Cat6 is backwards compatible with Cat5e Jacks, ends, and patch panels.

Cat6 cabling, jacks, patch panels, and ends are usually more expensive than Cat5e due to the higher quality materials and the more expensive manufacturing process needed to meet the Cat6 standard. That being said, if you project your data needs growing over time, investing in Cat6 upfront is a safe and wise bet.

Still curious about the difference between these cabling standards, or want to talk about the cost difference for your upcoming project? Give us a call.

  Phone: 208.635.4400

  Email: [email protected]

Serving Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Hayden areas.

Types of Fiber Optic Cable – Installation and Repair

The major difference between single mode and multimode optical fiber is that multimode has a significantly larger core diameter. Multimode is normally 50-100 micrometers, which is much larger than the wavelength of light running through the fiber optic. This gives multimode fiber optic cable greater capacity to carry light. Although multimode has a greater capacity, single mode has a higher fiber distance product limit. This is because multimode supports more than one propagation mode and therefore is limited by modal dispersion.

Single mode is typically used over long distances, such as between cities or states, whereas multimode is primarily used for inside plant infrastructure. At Intechtel, we have the tools and experience to work with both types of fiber optic cabling for inside and outside plant installations and repair. 

  Phone: 208.635.4400

  Email: [email protected]

Serving Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Hayden areas.