Knowledge base category: Cat6 Cabling

Cat6 terminates with RJ45 connectors and supports 10BASE-T, 100BASE-T, and 1000BASE-T standards. In high-performance applications, shielded Cat6 (F/UTP or S/FTP) with shielded keystone jacks and patch panels may be specified where electromagnetic interference (EMI) is a concern — common in Dallas-area industrial buildings, medical offices, or facilities near heavy electrical equipment.

Cat6 is the current baseline recommendation for commercial network cabling installations in DFW and the cable Just Cabling installs most frequently. It supports 1 Gbps at up to 100 meters and 10 Gbps at distances up to 55 meters — ten times the throughput of Cat5e at full channel length. Operating at 250 MHz, Cat6 delivers significantly better performance for high-density environments, VoIP, video conferencing, and wireless access points.

Cat6 uses four twisted copper pairs with tighter twisting and, in many constructions, an internal spline separator that reduces near-end crosstalk (NEXT) and alien crosstalk. It is fully backwards compatible with Cat5e and Cat3 infrastructure. Panduit, one of the primary structured cabling component manufacturers whose products Just Cabling works with, recommends Cat6 as the minimum for any new commercial horizontal cabling deployment.