As more and more internet cabling turns to wireless and fiberoptic technologies many are concerned that traditional structured cabling is heading the way of the dinosaur. However, there is one very real reason that hardwire network cabling will never go entirely extinct: security. As technology companies build growth around wireless technologies, such as Apple’s ICloud, there are still many questions as to how secure those systems are. Even though the companies designing these programs vouch for their security, those claims are rarely solidly proven. For this reason, many companies and organizations continue to depend on hard cabling to run sensitive information. Financial and government institutions in particular need a secure system based on ethernet cabling. Especially with a closed network system, hard ethernet cabling provides a level of information safety that is unparalleled in the data technologies field.

For example, the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) deals exclusively with the financial information of private and public citizens and businesses. The codes written inside a closed system are sent through hard wires and are easier to monitor, especially at the local, manual level. Because wireless systems are remotely monitored from extended locations, the system is vulnerable to access and hacking from remote locations as well. When systems are hard wired, intruders must find their way into a physical device hooked to the network. However, even when networks are hardwired, there is a risk of frequency interference or access if the signal is degraded by outside energy. Therefore it is important no matter what to seek a skilled structured cabling professional to run and install the cabling line. A structured cabling professional will also be able to secure the connections to the actual computers and devices making the network safer.

The software and hardware involved in the operating systems of the network also have security programs that are designed to secure the loss and/or interruption of information. Networks that support large operations and organization particularly need to employ the expertize of network cabling professionals. When big-task and high-security companies have their networks interrupted it can take a great deal of time and work to recover the damaged information and get the network back into full operation. This can mean a loss of time, work, data, and ultimately money, which no business wants to lose. If security is breeched by a maliceful party, some information may be irretrievable entirely and the culprit untraceable. In these cases the agents of the business themselves may be legally responsible for any sensitive information that is leaked and even any possible money lost. Beyond the security standpoint hardwired info systems are also somewhat less likely to be weak or interrupted as a point of the system is removed. Without the opportunity for a wireless signal to be weak or interrupted as it moves through space, there is one less point for weakness in the speed and efficiency of the network. Until wireless information storage and transmission grows more secure technology, hard wired structured cabling systems will still be employed at high-risk agencies.

In the United States, Equal Opportunity employment has become accepted practice, and is in fact federal law. Many companies express that they are an ‘Equal Opportunity Employer’ right on the application. In basic terms equal opportunity means that applicants for hire are considered regardless of race, color, religion, gender, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation. This came hand in hand with the civil rights movement and since has opened up many types of work to folks who were once considered socially unsuitable. While many jobs still appear to be skewed towards one gender or even one race, the composition is generally much more diverse than it was sixty years ago. Construction fields are a particularly good example of this shift.

Especially in the case of gender, construction used to be a fairly closed profession. Before equal opportunity developed, many construction jobs were once held exclusively by men, many of them caucasian. Today, many people still consider construction to be a man’s job. While statistics do reflect that a great percentage of construction workers are male, many capable workers are indeed women. This new representation of women in the work force, as well as other less traditionally considered laborers was not easily won. Many years of perseverance and integrity had to be applied to create this change. Cheryl Waiters informs the reading public of this struggle in her memoir Blood, Sweat and High Heels. Working particularly as an electrician, Waiters is and African American construction worker who writes of great adversity on the path to become successful in her field. For Waiters, as for many woman entering construction work, much of the difficulties are rooted in inaccurate stereotypes. To say that women are as smart, efficient and physically capable as men seems obvious, though many women who work construction still feel they have to prove their worth to their male counterparts. In heavily male careers, women must also come up against a ‘boys-only-club’ mentality in which it is more difficult to make the personal relationships necessary to further growth and promotion.

Protected by Equal Opportunity legislation, some women in the construction workforce are criticized as being a quota that must be filled to meet diversity standards. While it is true that many companies and educational organizations are bound to represent certain statistics as far as gender and race are concerned, the standards set forth for those women are no less demanding or rigorous than those of the men they work alongside. Construction staffing agencies do a great deal to continue the promotion of equal opportunity employment, connecting qualified people of all genders and races with the employers who need their services. As more work is sourced out to independent contractors and construction staffing agencies, more capable parties of all sorts of backgrounds find themselves employed. It is, in fact, frequently the least likely party who is willing to work the hardest and put forth the most revolutionary ideas. As far as women in construction are concerned, while the situation has improved, some still experience the same shocking difficulties that Waiters did. Most women, however, in recent years find both the work and their fellow workers to be welcoming to their positive presence.

While structured cabling contractors are very familiar with plenum cable, most business owners don’t learn about this type of cable until they are having a new facility constructed or are in the process of updating the voice and data network cabling in an existing structure.  Here is what you need to know about plenum cable and how it is used in the design of your cabling network.

The name of plenum cable refers to the space found between the actual ceiling of a structure and the dropped ceiling that the building occupants actually see.  That space is known as the plenum and is often used for running air conditioning and heating duct work.  The plenum is also ideal for running cabling from one office to another with relative ease.  In some cases, the cable installers will suspend the cable above the duct work. Other designs call for running the cabling adjacent to the ducts as they branch off into different rooms in the building.

What makes plenum cable so special is the casing. The jacket of this type of cable is specially formulated to be fire retardant.  This is because the cable is typically not surrounded with much in the way of exterior insulation.  The plastic casing or jacket must comply with governmental standards that ensure the wiring is self contained and not likely to create a fire hazard.  In the United States, those standards are set by Article 800 of the National Electrical Code.  This means that the cable must have a smoke density and a level of flammability that is in line with the provisions set forth by Underwriters Laboratories and the National Fire Protection Association.

Using plenum cable can help to reduce network cabling costs by making it easier to run cable safely through the open space above dropped ceilings.  You save time and money in comparison to attempting to tear into walls and run the cable through small crawl spaces. In addition, cable installers can position the cable so that fire marshals and others can easily inspect it when and as necessary.  As a bonus, the cable is sturdy and likely to hold up to the constant streaming of inbound and outbound data. Thanks to the nature of the cabling, your network is less likely to experience some sort of mechanical failure.

Unless you want to be constantly installing a new voice and data network infrastructure, it’s important to take some time and determine the type of network cabling and structured wiring strategies that will serve your business well for the next several years. In order to manage this task, it is very important to consider short-term and long-term needs and in terms of changes in the corporate working environment, advances in technology that will affect how your industry functions and even the cost of network maintenance. This type of assessment requires breaking down those requirements into an orderly process of evaluation.

What Do I Need Today?

Before approaching any structured cabling contractors, identify exactly what you need up and running right this minute. Think in terms of how many workstations the network needs to accommodate. This includes telephony support for inbound and outbound calls, the number of trunks or lines needed to manage the traffic and even the types of features the network must support. You also want to think in terms of bandwidth for Internet based applications. Ideally, the voice and data network cabling structure must support real time responses that allow your staff to manage all relevant tasks quickly and efficiently.

How About Next Year?

Don’t assume that the network you need today will still be sufficient a year from now. In that time, your company could experience a significant increase in business volume. Plan for that when talking with different voice and data cable installers and structured cabling contractors. What you want is a voice and data cable network that can be expanded on an as needed basis, while creating a minimum of downtime for all essential functions. If you build this type of flexibility into the system on the front end, the expansion process will be relatively painless.

Expect the Unexpected

Conditions within companies and industries can change quickly. You could find yourself faced with shifts in the industry that affect how your company does business. For example, you may find that audio conferencing is no longer adequate for communicating with field personnel, investors, and customers. When this is the case, you may find that utilizing a greater array of Internet based communications is necessary. If the structured cabling network can already support the additional bandwidth needed to use those tools effectively, the only thing that must be addressed is training employees how to use those tools effectively. Don’t Forget the Voice and Data Network Environment The physical layout of your facility will also play a role in determining your cabling needs. Some forms of cabling are very sensitive to dirt and dust. Other structured cabling can work well in just about any setting. It is important to consider where the actual voice and data cabling will reside, assess the conditions that the voice and data cabling will endure and make sure the right type of materials are used to protect those cables. Doing so will go a long way in making sure your voice and data network is up and running, and experiences a minimum of costly downtime.

The basic definition of a structured cabling system is whatever cabling and hardware makes up the workings of a telecommunications infrastructure. These systems are employed for many different uses — data transference and telephone service being the most common. These systems are installed by structured cabling technicians, who are trained with a solid knowledge base in the install maintenance and repair of various cabling systems.

One of the most difficult things about structured cabling is that every system is completely unique. Most all have similar hardware and products, but they vary greatly from building to building. The architecture will dictate a lot about a system, and will help decide what cabling and connection products to use. You need to create a system based on the everyday functions required, as well as the what equipment it needs to be able to support, both today and down the road. Often times you will be dealing with a previously installed cabling systems, and will have to decide how to upgrade or retrofit the system, or if you recommend tearing it out and installing all new cable. And customer demands are the biggest complication to deal with — everyone wants the highest functioning system for the least amount of money, and those in the structured cabling field sometimes have to get creative to satisfy their clients while staying in a specific price range.

Those interested in becoming a structured cabling technician should be fond of math, physics and electronics. The most common road for training is through a technical institute or vocational school. These organizations generally offer a two year program that covers the basics of computer knowledge, cable specifics, circuitry, and networking skills. There are also four year college and university programs that have courses and degrees in structured cabling, which allows you to obtain a broader knowledge base and receive more hands on experience in the lab. There are also a few associations out there that offer quick certifications for those looking to jump into the business. For example, the Fiber Optic Association has a Certified Premises Cabling Technician certification which quickly and efficiently gets students comfortable with UTP copper, fiber optics, and wireless technologies.

Once you have attained the proper training, the day in a life of a structured cabling technician can involve anything from installing new cabling, routers and switches, to testing systems for safety. Technicians are the ones to decide on the final locations for network hardware, they find and fix all networking and cabling issues, and repair any faulty equipment. There is also an option to go through higher level training and become a technician who designs new systems and improves existing systems.

The average salary for a technician is around $70,000 a year, though it varies greatly with location, company and your experience level. The outlook for jobs in structured cabling is looking great though 2014. As the IT field continues to surge upward and new technology keeps hitting the market, more and more systems will need to be installed or upgraded.

Looking for cabling jobs in the greater Los Angeles area? There may be more options than you think. With a large population and high residential density, Los Angeles offers cable installers and technicians many choices as to the nature and sustainability of their work. Being a major U.S. city, L.A. represents a large public and private business presence, as well as a strong government and military involvement. The opportunities to apply the skills and training of structured cabling are numerous.

In Los Angeles, like in most parts of the country, there are the usual cabling jobs to be found. Many L.A. jobs for cablers are with television cable providers, telecommunications firms and installation tech companies. These jobs deal with selling the services of internet and cable to homes and businesses and then installing and maintaining the systems needed to run them. Cabling engineers, skilled technicians, installers and customer service representatives are the normal fare of workers with such organizations. However, if you have the education and wish to take your skill set into different areas, L.A. is a good place to begin looking.

One example of a different sort of company that is looking to hire cabling techs is the National Guard. At the Los Angeles, Long Beach outpost of the Army National Guard they are seeking a cable systems installer. Unlike seeking a cabling job in L.A. with a more traditional employer, you can apply for cabling work with military agencies having had no experience or training. In fact, one of the biggest benefits of working with the national guard is that they will pay you to train in the field with them. The military is also more likely to offer health benefits, life insurance and even retirement plans to individuals who join up, right from the beginning. Another plus to working with an organization like the national guard is the degree of emphasis placed on the importance of the work. Communications specialist like cabling techs are especially needed for the efficiency of order getting delivered and missions getting completed. The National Guard offers these military upsides while still getting to live in the exciting city of L.A. While you may not have considered it previously, the military has wonderful opportunities for cabling techs, including cabling jobs right in Los Angeles.

Another less conventional L.A. Cabling job, is a cabling equipment installer for cars, auto-vehicles and other forms of transportation. These cabling systems are smaller and often run through cellular 2G and 3G systems. Navigation Solutions, an L.A.-based GPS and trip-planning technology installation company is looking for a new technician. Like most GPS this tracking technology requires mobile network technology and cabling materials that can both integrate into auto systems, but that can also withstand the demands of auto travel. This kind of work differs from what most L.A. cabling jobs require, but can be a new and exciting challenge for L.A. cablers. It will also get you out from behind a desk and into the world. L.A. offers a true variety of cabling jobs, so if you’re seeking sheer volume, looking for something new, this California Urban center is sure bet.

In the U.S. Structured cabling market, there are a vast number of employment opportunities. Depending on the needs of the community and the economy both at home and at large, individuals with an interest or education in the cabling field will have options to sort through on the way to good solid work. In Los Angeles, the market is very broad, and because of this, L.A. Cabling jobs are quite available. However, finding the right fit doing the right sort of cabling work is more challenging. While there are many subcategories, and certainly job titles and descriptions may vary, most Los Angeles cabling work can be divided into two sections: Large corporation jobs, like those with Time Warner and other household names, and smaller contract based company jobs. Each mode of employment has its benefits and its pitfalls. It is really most important to examine these pros and cons as they affect your needs as a cabling professional.

Larger companies like Time Warner Cable or Comcast provide cabling service both to homes and residences and to businesses and office buildings. These companies have many branches, including sales and marketing wings to help move the product of their cable service. In most areas, they provide internet cabling and network television hook-up and are also often affiliated with the production of local TV and entertainment. Large, nationwide operations like this are usually more stable than smaller and newer companies. The employee benefits are standardized as are the hours and the positions available to be filled. If you are looking for cabling jobs in L.A. it is a wise move to send your resume in the direction of larger companies, even if it is not your preference for work. Because these cable providers own a great scape of the cable networks in urban areas, they have more potential to grow and require new cable installers in places like Los Angeles. A standardized pay rate can be a wonderful thing; you can depend on your pay growth to occur when it ought to. However, this also means that even if your work or experience merits a pay raise or a promotion, you often must wait for the standardization to catch up to you. Saying that the work is simpler with large companies is also somewhat of an inaccuracy. If you’re in a cabling job in L.A. with a large provider you will need to have training and experience. Generally to work will be similar: traveling to homes and businesses to install cable network connections, though occasionally you’ll need to problem-solve a connection issue, and corporate practices may get in the way.

Though Los Angeles is a big city, not all of the cabling jobs are with large companies. Smaller operations do exist for cabling employment in L.A. The work is less standardized, and if you land a job with a small contractor, you may be asked to put into practice more of your cabling skills. The economy is difficult and thus the likelihood that a small or new business will succeed is less than that of a larger staple. The big benefit is usually that there is more freedom. The trust in your work needs to be greater and there will be fewer corporate policies. Your stake in the company can also be larger, as you will have closer personal relationships to the other members and more influence on the operations. The employee benefits are also not as stable in smaller companies, though usually employers do try to make the job worth your while. For L.A. cabling jobs, it is pertinent to look everywhere, but it s also useful to know what you need from a job to happy in and out of your work.

Los Angeles is a wonderful place to look if you are seeking cabling jobs. Cabling employment in plentiful in both the city proper and the whole of L.A. County. With a reported population of more than 9 million people in 2012, and a population density that continues to tighten, there are lots of people, and lots of companies that require cable installation and maintenance. As the market grows so too do the contracting companies and cabling businesses. A quick glance at an employment or job-finding website can give you feel for just how great the amount and the variety of structured cabling jobs there is in the greater Los Angeles area.

All though the economy is recovering and the cabling market is growing in southern California, if you are looking for L.A. jobs in cabling, you will still have better luck if you have some training and experience. If you have experience as a technician, particularly working with computer networking, Spencer Technologies is looking for a field technician in their L.A. branch to help their clients understand and install the retail cabling equipment that they purchase for their homes and businesses. Predominantly a POS systems company run with IBM technology, the hourly pay begins at $18.00 and hour and the position is full time.

Structured cabling jobs in L.A., like those in most of the U.S. and Canada generally require a certification and some experience. Especially if the compensation is good and fair, education and/or on the job experience is desirable. These positions often are filled by those who have a wide scope of experiences and can work is multiple technologies and systems. If a company can hire one person to do several different jobs, they will- it is cost and time effective. Telecompe Enterprises, for example, is seeking a low-voltage telecommunications technician that can fulfill a wide variety of responsibilities. Though this is an entry level position, they are seeking a cabler who can work with phone networks, computer networks, and other technological systems. As a cabler, seeking a cabling job in L.A., you must consider not only the work to be done or the pay to be received, but also the cost of living in an expensive place like Los Angeles. Telecompe does not report a pay rate for this position, but instead offers that it is negotiable based on experience. While it can be difficult when knee-deep in rigor of the job hunt, it is important to make a budget and stand up for the money you need to make taking the job feasible.

Another factor to be considered when seeking jobs for cablers in Los Angeles is the physical requirements involved. Ironically the biggest physical requirement is the ability to drive. You need a valid CA drivers license to apply for most L.A. cabling jobs, both because driving to cabling sites is needed to complete the work, and also because there really is no public transit there, so you’re going to have to drive to your job every day. Other physical requirements include crawling, climbing ladders, and using power tools. All that aside, L.A. Is an exciting place to live with beautiful weather. You’ll be close to the beach, and the urban growth of the city will keep cabling work available and growing. Los Angeles is worth examining if you are looking for cabling jobs.

Today, every office environment requires some type of voice and data system in order to function at peak efficiency. The particulars of the system will vary, based on the current and projected needs of the client. When evaluating different voice and data elements for your system, it is important to begin with the basics and then identify additional functions that will be used at least periodically. At the same time, it is important to think beyond today and make sure your system has the capability to expand as the business grows or changes in some manner.

Setting Up the Backbone

Whether the project involves establishing a voice and data structure for a single location or a series of interconnected locations, it is important to begin with the basics. The process will begin with the wiring at each of the locations involved in the network. If your company is building the facility from the ground up, then you will want to prewire the office. When doing so, make sure that the structured cabling wiring will support typical voice communications like basic telephony. You also want to ensure that the low-voltage wiring can support advanced data communications that is capable of supplying bandwidth for everything from a robust Internet connection of some type to high speed transfer into, out of and within your network. Most structured cabling systems use category 5 cable for the entire system. These systems are often installed by the interconnect who provides the telephony system or a contractors who specialize only in structured cabling systems. Providers who specialize in the development of structured cabling solutions can evaluate the scope of your office environment and come up with a wiring plan that will easily serve your needs today. Make sure to obtain suggestions from a couple of different sub-contractors before choosing one to manage the wiring process. This strategy provides the benefit of getting more than one perspective and possibly identifying a very helpful function that you had not considered in the past. Additionally, you will want to get at least three cabling quotes or RFP’s from three different structured cabling sub-contractors. This goes for the telephony or VOIP system as well. You will want to get at least three quotes or bids from each interconnect that you interview.

Addressing the Voice Component

Options for voice communications are considerably more varied than in decades past. Once upon a time, the company would purchase a private branch exchange or PBX to manage inbound and outbound calls. The PBX would physically reside at the office location and allow for both manual intervention and automated options for routing calls to open extensions, voice mail boxes and other options. A single line would connect the PBX with a public switched telephone network and allow inbound calls to be routed to different trunks or trunk groups found in the internal voice system. Today, there is also the option of going with a virtual PBX. This solution offers all the same benefits but allows them to be managed in a virtual environment as long as you have an appropriately designed and installed structured cable wiring netwokr. Using a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) connection, the functions are managed remotely. One benefit of this option is that if your office is damaged due to a natural disaster, you can make a few changes to the virtual PBX and have your employees work remotely. You can also go with a hybrid system that involves a combination of the traditional and virtual PBX structure. This gives you the best of both worlds and also helps to create an element of redundancy with your voice communications. Should one component be inoperable for a period of time, the remaining component can easily take on the call traffic. That translates to no downtime for your daily office functions. With any type of PBX, you want to make sure the configuration includes several basics. The system must support enough trunks to allow extensions for each workstation in the office. You also want additional trunks that can be called upon for conducting audio conferences that include locations outside your network. Don’t forget to allow for functions such as call waiting, call parking, voice mail, internal paging and other features that will make life around the office a lot easier.

Considering the Data Component

Designing the data system for the office calls for identifying the right type of hardware and software to drive the needs of your individual business. Keep in mind that while a doctor’s office will function somewhat differently from an attorney’s office, both will require a few basic elements as part of the design. Ideally, you want the data system to support all clerical, administrative and accounting processes with ease. The selection of hardware is extremely important for any data system. The data must be housed in a server that is protected with adequate security measures. The software used to drive that server should allow a master user to assign specific credentials to each user of the network. The idea is to make sure employees can add to, correct and access the data they need to do their jobs, but are still unable to reach proprietary data that is not associated with their standard and usual job tasks. The server should be able to house large amounts of data without experiencing any type of slow response during peak working hours. Depending on your business model, there may be a need to allow remote access to the server. For example, sales people may want to be able to link with the main sales database while on the road. This allows them the option of updating customer profiles or placing orders for clients in a real time manner. The software used to configure the server will make it possible for remote access to occur while still protecting the integrity of your data. Keep in mind that network redundancy is also important with the voice component. To this end, consider either installing a backup server or possibly using a virtual server. In the event a problem occurs with the primary server, the network should automatically switch to the backup source. Don’t forget to configure the connection between the servers so that new data added to the primary server also updates on the secondary server on a regular basis. That update may occur every hour if your office processes a lot of information. Many smaller offices will find that updates occurring nightly will be sufficient. By creating an adequate schedule of updates, the loss of data due to a hardware failure is kept to a minimum.

Planning for the Future

Many company owners make the mistake of thinking about the here and now when putting together a voice and data system. While immediate needs must be met, also plan for what you will need a year, two years and possibly even five years from now. Ideally, you want hardware that can be modified and expanded when and as necessary. You also want software solutions that will aid in keeping up with the demands of a growing business. As part of the support with the structured cabling plan, a competent provider can make suggestions of how to ensure your network has this type of built in flexibility. Including at least some of those ideas will save a significant amount of money and time in the years to come.

Are you debating over whether you should be frugal and install Cat 5 Ethernet cabling, upgrading to the faster Cat 5e, or investing in the gigabit certified Cat 6 for your home, commercial office network, or data center? Structured cabling contractors install voice and data cabling systems and understand the level of performance that can be expected from Cat 5, Cat5e, Cat 5E, and Cat 6 cable. Today we’re taking a closer look at all three of these options and breaking down their functions and features to better help you make your decision. 

When faced with the option of deciding what type of network cabling to install for your network, a networking novice might not have an understanding as to what the differences are between the three similarly sounding Ethernet cables. While it is important to understand your choices, we strongly recommend consulting a network cabling contractor before making a final decision.

To get to the root of the problem we need to define exactly what each version of the Ethernet cabling has been designed to do.

Cat 5 

The most basic type of network cable is Cat 5 and it comes in two varieties. SCTP or Screened Twisted Pair which is mostly used in Europe and UTP or Unshielded Twisted Pair which is what is commonly used in the United States. The difference between the two is that SCTP has an extra layer of shielding to protect from interference.

Cat 5 voice and data cable comes in either a solid or stranded version with the solid being stiffer and better for transmitting over a long distance, while stranded Cat 5 cable is bendable and used for standard patch cable. Cat 5 cable can support up to 100 Mbps of Ethernet and for up to 100 meters or 328 feet.

Cat 5e

The biggest difference between Cat 5 cable and Cat 5e cable or Category 5 enhanced cable is that Cat 5 cable achieves a greater standard of data transmission. This is why structured cabling contractors have all but replaced Cat 5 cable with Category 5e in all new voice and data cable installations.

Cat 5e cable can handle data transfers up to 1000 Mbps which makes it suitable for Gigabit Ethernet. In addition, Cat 5e cable was designed to have a better resistance to near-end crosstalk or interference.

Cat 6

The most advanced cable of the three is Category 6. As the numbering entails Cat 6 calbe is the latest and best performing version of structured cabling available.

Category 6 network cables are made up of four twisted sets of copper wire and its abilities surpass the other two types of data cabling because Cat 6 cable has a structural difference in its longitudinal separator. In plain English this separator insulates each of the pairs of wire from one another, which in turn decreases possible crosstalk permits faster data transfers. Another advantage this gives Category 6 cable is that it now has double the bandwidth of regular Cat 5 cable.

Cat 6 cable supports up to 10 Gigabit Ethernet for up to about 37 meters or 121 feet. Now, not to make it any more confusing there is a Cat 6a version available that addresses the limit of distance and is certified for up to 100 meters or 328 feet.

Now that we have a better understanding of what each of the three cable types were designed handle, we can now begin to answer the question of which one you should be using for your structured wiring needs..

First, when trying to decide either Cat 5 cable or Cat 5e cable, the smart choice is to go with the latter. The fact that Cat 5e cable is rated at 350 MHz compared to Cat 5 cable which is only rated at 100 MHz is one selling point. Another is that Cat 5e cable will support Gigabit Ethernet and is not only backwards compatible but with the advancements in reducing the loss of signal from “bleeding” makes it hands down the better cable.

Now when deciding whether to upgrade from Cat 5e cable to Cat 6 cable there are some other factors to take into consideration. For example, are all your components rated to supports Gigabit Ethernet? If not, then you won’t be achieving true gigabit speeds and might as well just go with the Cat 5e. Unless you plan to upgrade your components in the future then Cat 6 cable will provide a better infrastructure for these planned upgrades.

In addition, while Cat 5e cable can support gigabit speeds only Cat 6 cable is certified to handle speeds up to 10 Gigabits. However, unless you’re in an environment that has a server with a tremendous amount of data constantly being transferred between machines then an upgrade to Cat 6 structured cabling might not be necessary.

It should be noted that CAT 6 has more twists per inch than Cat 5e and these “twists” in each pair of copper line allows any crosstalk to be cancelled out by the cables partner. In addition, the upgraded copper process used in creating Cat 6 cable has been designed to produce fewer impurities which make for enhanced conductivity.

Which category of voice and data cable are you using and if it needs to be upgraded will you go with Cat 5e or Cat 6?

Structured cabling contractors have the experience and knowledge to guide you when you have questions or concerns regarding the installation, upgrade, or expansion of your voice and data network.