Cat6

Conventionally Gigabit Ethernet uses all four pairs for signalling. While it is true that at present there is no commonly used application technology that needs all the headroom of Cat6, it is possible that there will be. For example, there are already standards groups working on transmitting Gigabit Ethernet over only two pairs. Although currently experimental, this opens up the possibility of doubling the bandwidth (potentially useful for distributed storage applications), using the spare pairs for power (as has happened with Cat5) or providing a link for an additional device (e.g. telephone).

Remarkably, at the time that Cat6 was ratified, so too was another standard, Cat7. It has ample headroom for applications beyond 10Gigabit Ethernet and to meet that more modest need, work has started on an enhanced Cat6 standard, currently called “augmented” Cat6.

Please contact one of our sales team for further information.