Data Wiring and Cabling Services
Data cables are used to send electronic data from one place to another to allow the sharing of information and, from a commercial point of view, are mainly used in telecommunication and computer systems. Generally, data cables contain either fibre optics or copper.
Currently, there are two types of data cabling you can use depending on your requirements. These are known as Cat 5e and Cat 6 cabling. Here is a summary of the differences and an explanation of which type of cabling you might need for your business or home environment:
Cat 5e Cabling
- Cat 5e can support 1000BASE-T Ethernet networking, supporting speeds up to 1 gigabit per second, and frequencies up to 100 Mhz.
- Cat 5e is more suitable for home and small business use. In the home it would be used to set up a network from a central server, from which cabling can taken to other rooms in your house where other devices can receive electronic signals wirelessly.
- Cat 5e has been around for a number of years now, but is still used extensively by small businesses and homes for communications, data transfer, and media applications.
- On the whole, Cat 5e is going to be suitable for using in the home, but Cat 6 became available a few years ago and is superior in speed and in the transmission of data.
Cat 6 Cabling
- Cat 6 supports 10GBASE-T Ethernet networking, supporting speeds up to 10 gigabits per second, and frequencies up to 250 Mhz.
- With more applications being used on networking systems, including video streaming, users often require the higher bandwidth provided by Cat 6.
- Cat 6 has a higher transmission performance, with lower risks of data corruption.
- While Cat 6 is mainly used by businesses, it is also becoming a popular choice in the home market. This is mainly due to the growth in home media streaming.
- Cat 6 cabling is typically around 20% more expensive to have fitted than Cat 5e. However, as the demand for higher bandwidth continues to grow and more and more applications are added to networks, Cat 6 will be able to cope with the demand, and is regarded as being future proof for the foreseeable future.
- Cat 6 cabling is also more suitable for gaming because of its faster bandwidth.
To let us know of your requirements, or to get advice on what type of data cabling is going to be the most suitable for you. Feel free to call us on: