Every cabling project eventually reaches the Cat6 vs Cat6A question. Both run gigabit. Both look the same from a metre away. The difference is what happens at 10 gigabit.
The short answer
Cat6A is specified to carry 10 Gbps over the full 100 m channel length. Cat6 is not — it caps out well below that. If you expect any of the equipment downstream of this cabling to want 10 Gbps in the next decade (and a lot of it already does), Cat6A pays for itself. Every copper run we install gets Fluke DSX certified before handover so you have evidence it actually meets the standard.
When Cat6 is still fine
Short runs to end-user workstations that will only ever see gigabit? Cat6 is perfectly reasonable. You’ll save a little on cable and a little on install time, and nobody will miss the 10G headroom.
When to step up
Server rooms, uplinks, anything that feeds a wireless access point (modern APs already want 2.5 Gbps), long horizontal runs to meeting rooms — Cat6A. Trying to retrofit 10 Gbps onto Cat6 because the building got repurposed is an expensive mistake. If you’re considering a fibre backbone alongside the copper, our notes on OS2 vs OM4 cover the next layer of the same decision.
How we install it
Cat6A has tighter bend-radius and termination requirements than its predecessors. Done badly it underperforms — sometimes worse than a properly-terminated Cat6 run. We treat it as a specifying decision and a craft decision: the cable choice matters, but the install matters more. See our fibre & copper service page for the full standard we apply on every run.
If you’re scoping a new install — office, school, industrial or secure facility — get in touch for a free survey and we’ll tell you honestly whether Cat6A earns its price on your site.
