3 Ways Cat6 Cabling Can Improve Your Network

Technology is continuously evolving and adapting to meet the needs of the modern world. Data capacity has reached new heights and the processing power that can be accessed by businesses, and individuals, is increasing all of the time. To keep up with the pace of rapidly evolving technology, businesses need to have sufficient quality data cabling in place. Is your business still dependant on Cat5 cabling? This cabling standard served businesses well for some time, but if you want to retain a competitive edge, it’s time to think about upgrading your cabling network. Technology can enable us to run our businesses much more productively and efficiently, but in order to take advantage of this we need to have the right cabling infrastructure in place. In this article, we discuss three ways in which Cat6 cabling can improve your business network.

Faster speeds

Your cabling network needs to be able to meet your growing demands as the amount of data in your business network increases. Cat5 cabling is no longer adequate for the needs of most businesses and has, in the most part, been superseded by newer cabling standards. Modern businesses increasingly have requirements for Gigabit speeds, which cannot be supported by older cabling standards. Cat5 cables, for example, have a maximum speed of 1000Mbits. In comparison, Cat6 cables have the capacity to support a Gigabit network to a distance of 164ft. They can also allow you to have a combined network because they support data in all forms.

Minimising crosstalk

Compared to Cat5 cables, Cat6 cabling offers significantly greater immunity against crosstalk. Crosstalk refers to signal interference from other cables and electrical devices in the network. It can cause problems and negatively impact the quality of your network performance, particularly in relation to video and audio applications. This can cause downtime and disruption to your business as well as potentially damaging your reputation with customers. Having high-quality cables installed can make all the difference, helping to increase efficiency and maintain business continuity. With Cat6 cabling, there is a greatly reduced chance of signal degradation and you will benefit from a more reliable network performance.

Future-proofing

Upgrading to Cat6 cabling now is a smart way of future-proofing your business. Cat5 cabling has had a long run, but it's nearing the end of its life cycle as more and more people and organisations these days have advanced network requirements. By having Cat6 cabling installed, you know that you will be ready and able to support changes and advances in technology as they occur. And, you will no longer need to worry about your network lagging behind or your cables becoming obsolete any time soon because you will have a future-proof cabling infrastructure in place. With a greatly increased bandwidth, you will be able to support the ongoing and rapid technological changes that are inevitable.

Upgrading from Cat5 to Cat6 cabling is easy as they are completely backwards compatible. And, you will see a rapid return on investment which is primarily down to the improved productivity and efficiency that comes from having a superior network performance. So, if your cabling network is holding your business back then it’s time to upgrade to Cat6 cabling.