Cat6A Networking Cables

Cat6A is the practical choice for any network that needs to hold 10 Gigabit across a full length run. Where Cat6 manages 10G only to about 55 metres, and only in favourable conditions, Cat6A is specified to deliver it across the entire 100 metre channel at 500MHz. If the cabling is going into a building you expect to still be using in ten years, this is the category that will not need replacing.

Alien crosstalk is the reason it exists

At 10 Gigabit, the interference that matters most is not between pairs inside a cable but between adjacent cables in a bundle. Cat6A is built specifically to resist it, either through a thicker separator that holds neighbouring cables apart or through foil shielding. This is why Cat6A is noticeably larger than Cat6 and why bundle sizing needs planning before a pull.

UTP or shielded

Unshielded Cat6A is easier to terminate, cheaper, and entirely adequate in a typical office. Shielded F/UTP or S/FTP belongs where interference is real: industrial floors, spaces running alongside mains power, or dense data centre racks. Shielded cable only performs if the shield is bonded to ground at the terminations, so it requires shielded keystones and patch panels to be worth the extra cost.

Armored Cat6A for outdoor, direct burial and rodent prone routes is stocked separately.

Further reading: Cat6 vs Cat6a: Which Do You Actually Need? · Armored Ethernet Cable: When It’s Worth It · From Cat3 to Cat8: A History of Ethernet Cable · How to Run Ethernet Through Walls · What Ethernet Cable Do You Need for 2.5G and 10G? · Shielded vs Unshielded Ethernet Cable Explained