Category Cable History
Cat5 was released in the mid 1990s. It has limited speed, plus high interference, packet loss, and more, so wire companies came out with cat5e around 2000. But then cat5e had its own limits, so wire companies came out with cat6 in the early 2000s. Then cat6 also had its own limitations so wire companies came out with cat6a. And the journey continues with wire companies now releasing cat7, cat8, and more. It is a constant sea of change as wire companies try to produce in-wall cabling that supports tomorrow’s bandwidth needs. The big problem is that you as an integrator are supposed to be wiring your homes for tomorrow’s needs.
The question I pose, why are you still even using category cable? It is slow and cumbersome to terminate, sensitive to temperature, susceptible to packet loss, and ALL copper cable has a theoretical max of 10.2 gbps. Fiber cable has been out since 1975 and is critical throughout today’s networks. And when fiberoptic cable is combined with IFP hardware, you give your clients a future-proofed structure since speeds and content are only limited by the modules on the end of the fiber. Whether it is IFP, AV Pro Edge, Cleerline, or other players that are bringing cutting edge fiber products to market, you are putting something in your client’s walls that is truly future-proof.
You and Your Integration Company
To be bold, look at your integration company. You are the leader and technical advisor for your clients, but are you still installing category cable that will limit your client’s functionality in the near future? The industry went through five versions of category cable in about 10 years. Are you comfortable telling your clients that the category cable you’re installing is already maxed out? Or are you getting on board with most integrators and pulling fiber to each location? If you are in the latter, you are truly serving your clients.
We are here to help you start. Give us a ring and we’ll help you get started with IFP and fiber. Once you realize how simple fiber is than category cable, you’ll never look back.
