Acconet’s range of outdoor CAT5e and CAT6 cables offer more protection and better throughput speeds. 

The CAT5e is the established SMB cable standard that provides up to Gigabit throughput speeds (CAT5e = 1000Mbps) whereas CAT6/a Ethernet cables are fast becoming the MLS standard throughput speeds of up 10Gpbs (CAT6 = 1000Mbps; Cat6a = 10Gbps). 

Why choose Acconet range of CAT5e and CAT6 cables?

The major difference between CAT5e and CAT6 cables is the number of twists per cm and the thickness of the sheath.  The following features set Acconet’s range of Ethernet cables apart from the rest:

• Double Sheathed & Nylon Spline

The Acconet CAT5e and CAT6 cables are both protected by not one, but two sheaths effectively halving the effects of near end crosstalk (NEXT) and alien crosstalk (AXT) in comparison to other Ethernet cables. A nylon spline is inserted to reduce crosstalk in the CAT6 cables. The sheathes help protect the cable against UV rays and other harmful elements that could be present in an outdoor installation.

• STP

CAT cables use twisted pair wires. These wires can either be an Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) or a Shielded Twisted Pair (STP). UTP means that the wires are bundled inside a rubber sleeve with no other protection – this is the most common type.

Acconet’s outdoor CAT5e and CAT6 cables make use of STP which means that the wires are wrapped in a layer of braided copper shield as well as a thin layer of foil to protect the signals from electrical interference (ESD & external) when used with grounded equipment. Although STP is more expensive, its signal doesn’t degrade as much over longer distances and is ideal for areas that use heavy machinery (factories) or experience a lot of interference. It also reduces the interference on densely populated high-sites between the cables. 

So what cable would suit your business best?

• CAT5e

The CAT5e Ethernet cable was designed to decrease crosstalk, which allows it to achieve speeds of up to 1000Mbps (Gigabit Ethernet) and is ideal for small to medium business.

• CAT6/a

In theory a CAT6 Ethernet cable can handle up to 10Gbps (10 000Mpbs) at a maximum length of roughly 37m which is ideal for large businesses that use bandwidth hungry technologies such as VoIP and Video. You can also achieve a full 1Gbps speed over distances up to 100m. Although you’ll be looking at investing in a carrier-class switch such as our Edge-Core range, the CAT6 Ethernet cable is completely compatible with existing CAT5e infrastructure. A new advanced version of the CAT6, the CAT6a, is designed to support 10Gbps over the full 100m length.