WHAT CAT IS BEST SUITED TO YOU?
You know how we love a good play on words so we’re not talking about the cat that sits in your window chirping at the birds outside or the one that I’m constantly cleaning litter up from. I’m talking internet wiring, category 5, 5e, 6, 7 etc ethernet wire.
Why do you care?
The best connection in your house for internet is a wired connection but what most consumers don’t know is that “ethernet wire” comes in several categories and these categories are important because you want to make sure you get your full bandwidth when you are plugged into the internet.
The Cable Break Down.
Category 5 supports data rates up to 100 Mbps.
Category 5e supports data rates up to 1000 Mbps or 1 Gbps
Category 6 supports data rates up to 10,000 Mbps or 10 Gbps
Category 7 supports data rates up to 10,000 Mbps
or 10 Gbps but is better suited for areas with a lot of interference (Hello electricians this is what you should be using not cheap category 5)
Category 8 supports data rates up of 25,000 or 40,000 Mbps (25 or 40 Gbps)
So which Cable is best for you?
Category 5 is dated and really doesn’t have much use so if you have it know it is never going to get you data rates above 100 Mbps.
In most cases Category 5e is the way to go, it is relatively cheap, goes up to 1 Gbps which most devices max out at and very easy to obtain.
Category 6 is what we would call future proofing. Good to have incase our appetite for data continues to grow as we at Lime Telenet expect it will.
Category 7 as suggested above probably what you want if you are running along electrical wires or have large bundles of ethernet running in same area.
Category 8 is just used in data centers for right now if you are thinking about using this type of cable you probably are not reading our twisted lime posts so move along fancy pants.
Indoor or Outdoor?
Keep in mind ethernet wire has a few other classifications based on where you are installing it as well. These are based on fire code regulations, outdoor ratings and indoor ratings. We could probably write another blog on this so I won’t bore you with the details since most customers will either need indoor or outdoor.
Where should I buy my ethernet wire from?
So this is the second half of the equation. Now that you know what type of wire you need or want, where do you find it. Well that’s where you are in luck? If you need a custom length or need a specialized cable run you call us and we get it done for you.
Lime Telenet is able to make any length of cable up to 300 feet in length.
What Does Lime Telenet Carry?
We carry Category 5e cable both indoor and outdoor direct burial (means exactly what it sounds like) on our vehicles. We also have Outdoor rated overhead category 5e wire with a tension/ground wire that is perfect for running between buildings.
If you need a short 3 foot or 6 foot wire most electronics stores carry them but then again if we are on site our techs would be more than happy to sell you a few if you need them.
The Cat Recap
So now you should know what category ethernet wire is best suited for you. For more information follow us on Facebook http://facebook.com/limetelenet, check out our add-ons at https://limetelenet.com/residential/residential-add-ons/ or even better give one of our experts a call, they’d be happy to help.
Put a twist in your life with Lime Telenet, 226-722-5114
