But before choosing your cable type, you'll need to consider whether you own or rent a property. If it's your own property, you'll want to figure out your primary usage and technology requirements for speed. If you are renting, however, you will want to determine how long you plan to stay or what is sufficient for your company's needs.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT CABLE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR YOUR INDUSTRY

 
Are you using a training and conference room that requires quality internet speed? Maybe you own a space where technology and infrastructure are the biggest part. Or, what if you're the IT director of a high-volume medical facility and need to make IT decisions for the entire organization? You may need security, a secure automatic door, medical equipment and/or temperature-regulating hospital refrigeration for life-saving drugs like insulin or organs.

Manufacturing or automotive plants require industrial grade cables where the outer sheath of the cable is rated for extreme environments. This type of heavy duty cabling must prevent damage from electromagnetic interference and hazardous materials.
Whether you're in the market to install network cabling in a new building, chemical plant, or re-cabling an existing workplace, you'll want to be aware of the different types of network cabling available.
You have to hire a real team of IT professionals and you'll want to make ideal cabling infrastructure costs. Cabling infrastructure typically represents less than 10% of the total network budget. Installation is a difficult replacement. Therefore, you will need to know the different types of cable to prepare for your business goals and tasks.

TYPES OF CABLE INFRASTRUCTURE

1. Category 5 (Cat5) – Cat5 cabling has been a standard since way back in 1995. If you use Cat5 and your IT needs are met, fix literally nothing except where there is a problem. If you plan to expand into more advanced IT technologies, requirements may dictate your choice.

2. Category 5e (Cat5e) – The cable can allow the power and speed of any equipment and type of Internet it works with. Getting a faster cable won't change your internet speed if your installed equipment is slower. Most building cables are Cat5e, a standard since 2001. It has a copper cable that uses a new standard; 4-twisted pairs, with all 8 contacts. Cat5e reduces noise and signal interference, increasing the nominal transmission speed to 350 Mbit/s over 100 meters. An optimized coding scheme allows up to 50 meters of Cat5e cable to perform at Gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-T) speeds. If your network needs higher speeds now or in the future, then Cat5e cabling may not be able to accommodate high speeds. The bandwidth is 100 MHz. Cat5 and Cat5e cable should be modified to accommodate higher performance businesses.

3. Category 6 (Cat6) – Cat6 is recommended if you own the space or plan to stay in the facility. If your company uses PoE devices (Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems, cameras, automatic door access, WIFI), you will want to install a minimum category 6 cable because it can handle the power required for these devices better from the Cat5e cable. It has a bandwidth of 200 MHz. The Cat6 standard is from 2002. It is anticipated that an upgrade to Cat6a Ethernet cable will be necessary for some time, but if you need more equipment for speed and extreme video performance – such as for connecting to a training conference – all options are worth considering. Power over Ethernet (PoE) is a wired local area network (LAN) technology that allows the electrical current necessary to operate a device to be carried by data cables rather than power cables. PoE minimizes the number of wires that are installed for the network. Cat6 cable is recommended for Power over Ethernet (PoE) and Audio / Video (AV) applications. Mainstream adoption of Gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-T) requires new industry standard cables capable of transmitting at frequencies higher than 250 MHz. Cabling uses 23 AWG conductors and multiple twisted pairs per inch to reduce signal noise and interference. More stringent specifications ensure that 100-meter Category 6 paths are capable of transfer speeds of 1000 Mbit/s. Electronic equipment emits electromagnetic signals. When several cables are close together, these cables can interfere with each other. This mixing is called "crossroads". The primary difference between Cat5 and Cat6 cable is not only higher speed, but also reduced impedance. FEXT (Far End Crosstalk) is coupling between two or more transmitting pairs as the signal spreads from the transmitting end of the pair to the receiving end. End coupling can be expressed as FEXT or ELFEXT, both measured in dB. FEXT and ELFEXT are the same coupling but measured against two different references. Newer versions of category cables (Cat6 and Cat6A) reduce the impact of interference through various methods, including twisted cable design and improved shielding. Cat6 enhancements offer a higher signal-to-noise ratio, enabling greater reliability for current applications and higher data rates for future applications. If you have a conference room that requires powerful technology, cabling is the way to go. Cat6 is replacing HDMI as the A/V transmission standard

4. Category 6a (Cat6a) – Cat6a has an increased specification, designed to double the transmission frequency to 500 MHz. This cable infrastructure supports a full speed of 10 gigabit over distances of 100 meters of cable length. The same applies to cables with Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) which reduces interference. Most computers are connected at Gigabit Ethernet speed. IEEE 802.3 (the 10 GBASE-T standard), continues to drive demand for high performance. Reaching 10,000 Mb/s requires a higher cable category, such as Cat6 or Cat6a. Cat6 or Cat6a is recommended if you plan to upgrade or move to a new location in the next 5 to 10 years. Category 6 cable solutions are sufficient for transmission quality, provided you don't need to target complex video applications or large-format presentations. Cat6 cables have long been used for networking, but this type of cabling may not be the ideal long-term choice. Instead, as video streaming and wireless communications become more standard business practices, this type of copper wire may soon face range limitations.

5. Category 7 (Cat7) – Designed for Gigabit Ethernet, Cat7 can offer more than you need. Each newer cable standard allows users faster speeds, even with longer cables. Most businesses still don't need to upgrade their hardware to Cat7 Ethernet cable, much less to Cat7a or Cat8, released in 2010 and 2013.

FIBER OPTIC CABLES

Fiber optic cable infrastructure is becoming the gold standard for companies reaching bandwidth limits with Cat6. Lightweight cabling, such as passive optical networks (PON) and active Ethernet (AE), can encourage a company's transition to fiber optic cabling, without problems. Fiber optic cable is used to connect network segments; connecting buildings and floors, but not used for full networking. Composed of silica glass fibers, fiber optic cables are not like copper cables.

Fiber optic cable uses light instead of electricity to transmit signals. Light is the fastest method of transmitting information, however, this cable has the added advantage of avoiding electrical interference. Because light meets very little resistance, you can run fiber optic cable over long distances without amplifying the signal. Some signals can travel 5,000 miles before being processed. Imagine how this cable can improve a normal network installation.
Also, fiber optic includes speed, sending signals over 10 GB per second. And even at that speed, the signal is much cleaner than traditional electrical cabling.
Comparing fiber optic cables to coaxial cabling – identified cabling for cable TV service – is like comparing digital information to analog information. In comparison, fiber optics are far more impressive than cables of other categories.

TWO TYPES OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLES

Singlemode – delivers 10 gigabit Ethernet over 40,000 meters. Expensive and difficult to operate, this cable is so narrow that light can only pass through it in a single path.
Multimode – enables 10 gigabit Ethernet at 550 meters. The wider diameter of the core gives the light rays the freedom to travel in multiple paths, causing distortion of the signal during its reception.

ADVANTAGES OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLES

– Greater bandwidth and transfer rate capability, especially for video applications
– Takes up less space in cable runs
– Immune to electrical disturbances
– You can work over longer distances

WHICH CABLE INFRASTRUCTURE IS RIGHT FOR YOUR COMPANY?

While technology is constantly changing – and no one can 100% predict what's next – your type of cable should perform at peak performance without problems for at least 10 years. You will certainly want your company's cable infrastructure to last a lifetime or until the next infrastructure upgrade.

If you're somewhere rental, you may be able to get by with standard category cable, Cat5e or higher. If you own property and plan to stay for more than a few years, you'll want to consider investing in higher-end cable infrastructure.
Planning the infrastructure in advance is always a smart decision. Why spend money to connect basic networking systems when within a year or two you'll need increased network speeds to keep up with the demands of today's technology? You certainly don't want to repeatedly open the walls or break the floors to replace the network infrastructure.