Cat6 vs. Cat6a vs. Cat7 vs. Cat8: What’s the Difference?

 

Ethernet connects devices in a LAN to each other and the internet. With data traveling between the wires, protocols enable each physical cable to communicate between devices. And since the cables are physically connected, there is more reliability with Ethernet than there is with a Wi-FI or 5G wireless service.

This is the basic difference between Ethernet and popular wireless networking options. However, the distinctions between CAT 6, CAT 7 and CAT 8 cables are more nuanced. Here’s what you need to know:

Cat6 is the sixth generation of ethernet cabling used in enterprise and home networks. Introduced in the early 2000s, Cat6 cables remain a popular choice for high-speed internet connections because they meet building code standards. They are also more affordable than more recent generations of Ethernet cabling and are backward compatible with older Ethernet standards, such as Cat5 and Cat5e.

Cat6 is capable of supporting data transfer rates of up to 10 gigabits per second at a distance of up to 55 meters and is the most common Ethernet cabling in use. Cat6A, an augmented version of Cat6, offers 10 times the network speed and twice the bandwidth at a distance of up to 100 meters.

Contrary to popular belief, Cat7 isn’t the successor to Cat6. Cat7 is a proprietary design, but it is not a cabling standard of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Even high-quality Cat7 cables, capable of transfer rates of up to 40Gbps over 50 meters and 100Gbps over 15 meters, aren’t in common use. As a result, some organizations avoided using Cat7 cables.

Cat8, officially recognized by the IEEE with pieces standardized across manufacturers, is compatible with all previous generations of cabling and is the true successor to Cat6.
The key distinction is that Cat8 cabling has faster throughput over short distances — 40Gbps up to 30 meters and the standard Cat6 rate of 10Gbps at up to 100 meters. This evolution from Cat6 also has a bandwidth of 2000 megahertz, twice that of Cat7. For these reasons, Cat8 cables are becoming increasingly popular.

 

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