Short answer
For desk, camera and access point connections, Cat6 is enough for most buildings today and carries gigabit speed up to 100 meters. Cat6A is chosen for backbone lines where 10 gigabit will be needed at 100 meters and for new buildings meant to last a long time. For distances over 100 meters, between buildings and in environments with heavy electrical interference, fiber optic cable is used.
What does the category number mean?
Copper network cables are classified by category number. The higher the number, the higher the frequency the cable can carry, and therefore the higher the speed it can reach. Cat5e, Cat6 and Cat6A are the most common types on the market today. Cat5e still works in older buildings but is no longer preferred in new installations.
Copper cable has a limit that never changes: the total distance between the switch and the device must not exceed 100 meters. About 90 meters of this is the fixed cable in the wall, and the rest is the short cables at both ends (patch cables). A higher category does not extend this distance; it carries a higher speed over the same distance.
Fiber optic cable, on the other hand, carries light, not electricity. That is why its distance limit goes from hundreds of meters up to kilometers, and it is not affected by electrical interference from lightning, motors or welding machines.
Cat6: the right choice for most jobs
Cat6 easily carries 1 gigabit up to 100 meters. The speed needed for a desk outlet in an office, an IP camera, a ceiling access point, a printer or an IP phone is far below this. Cat6 can also carry 10 gigabit over short distances, but that distance is well under 100 meters and depends on interference in the environment.
Cat6's practical advantage is that it is thin and flexible. It fits through narrow conduits, takes up little space in the cabinet, and its ends are easy to terminate. For a home, store, school or small office, it is usually the first choice.
The cable's category alone is not enough; workmanship also determines the result. Bending the cable at a sharp angle, over-tightening it with cable ties, or untwisting the pairs at the end more than necessary reduces the line's performance. That is why every line should be measured with a tester when it is finished, or at least checked that all conductors are connected in the right order. An untested line makes it harder to find which part is faulty when the first problem appears.
Expert note: Look at the conductor before the cable's category. Copper-clad aluminum (CCA) cables look like Cat6 from the outside, but they heat up with PoE and cause problems on long runs. Choose cable with pure copper conductors.
Cat6A: when is it needed?
Cat6A is designed to carry 10 gigabit over the full 100 meters. The cable is thicker, its internal structure blocks interference better, and it works at a higher frequency.
Cat6A belongs where 10 gigabit will be needed within a few years, even if not today: links between the server and the main switch, backbone lines between floors, and school and hospital corridors with heavy use of new-generation access points. Cat6A is also known to handle heat better where high-power PoE devices (PTZ cameras, outdoor cameras with heaters) are run in the same bundle with many cables.
Its drawback is its thickness. Conduits, cable trays and the layout inside the cabinet should be planned for Cat6A. Trying to pull Cat6A through a narrow conduit laid for Cat6 damages the cable. Also, you do not get this class's performance unless Cat6A cable is used with Cat6A connectors and outlets.
Fiber optic: distance and links between buildings
Fiber cable comes in two main types. Multimode fiber is used inside buildings and on campus scale, up to a few hundred meters. Singlemode fiber carries signals over kilometers; service provider lines and links between distant buildings are of this type.
Fiber is strongest between buildings. A copper cable run between two buildings can damage devices because of different grounding points and lightning. Since fiber does not carry electricity, this risk does not exist. The link between the production hall and the administrative building in a factory, between the main building and the gym in a school, or between blocks in a housing estate should be made with fiber.
Fiber has no power of its own, so it does not carry PoE. If you connect a camera on a distant pole with fiber, you also need power and a media converter or a small switch at that point. Preparing fiber ends (splicing and termination) requires special equipment; this work needs an experienced team. A fiber line should also be measured after it is installed, and the loss values should be written in the handover document.
What to watch for outdoors and underground
Every cable that goes outside the building must be an outdoor type. The jacket of an indoor cable cracks in the sun within a few summers. During Şanlıurfa's long, harsh summers, cables left exposed on the roof, on the facade or on a pole wear out especially fast.
Cable to be buried underground must be run through corrugated conduit, with spare room left in the conduit for adding cables later. Running network cable in the same conduit as garden lighting or irrigation pump cable creates interference.
- Outdoors, choose a UV-resistant jacket.
- Underground, use gel-filled or waterproof cable.
- Do not share a conduit with power cables.
- Between buildings, choose fiber instead of copper.
- Label both ends of each line with the same number.
Quick decision guide
Distance, speed needs and the life of the building decide. In a single-story store or a home, Cat6 is enough. In a new school, hospital or office building that will be used for many years, planning the backbone lines with Cat6A and the links between buildings with fiber is far more economical than breaking walls later. Cable is the network component that stays in the building the longest; switches and access points change every few years, while the cable in the wall stays in place.
If you cannot work out which line should be run with which cable in your project, the Desa Bilişim team can see the building, measure the distances and draw up a cabling plan.
Frequently asked
Do I need to replace the Cat5e cables in my home?
Maybe not. Cat5e can carry 1 gigabit over short distances. If the cables are in good condition and you have no problems, replacing them is not necessary; choose Cat6 for new lines run during renovation.
Is it better to buy Cat7 or Cat8 cable?
For general use inside a building, these cables bring no extra benefit. Cat8 is mainly designed for very short connections in data centers. Connector and outlet compatibility can also cause problems.
What happens if I run a cable longer than 100 meters to a camera?
The image may drop, the camera may restart, or the PoE power may not be enough. For long distances, a switch is placed in between, or the line is carried over fiber and converted to electrical at the camera end.
Which cable for which line?
Share your building's floor sketch and distances, and let's draw up the cabling plan together.
