If you are looking to buy the Cat6a pure copper cable, you might notice that the same cable is offered at different prices. What do you reckon is the reason behind this? How do some manufacturers manage to produce the cable at a much smaller cost than others?
The obvious question is the quality of the cable. You’d be surprised to know that even pure copper has different types. And the plenum and the riser jacket can also be produced at different prices. Pertinent to mention here is that the quality of the Cat6a cable is not the only factor determining its price. Other costs such as labor, taxes, and availability can also affect the price of the cable.
But how do you know which one is the best quality? We shall find out in this blog. Read on.
Cat6a Cable Pure Copper
Cat6a Cable made with 23 AWG bare copper conductors is the most widely used ethernet cable in business LAN applications. It supports data transfer at speeds up to 10 GBit/s over 100 meters with a whopping 750MHz bandwidth.
It is produced in multiple variants but with the same bare copper conductors. However, these bare copper conductors are made in two different designs. Namely, noon-oxygen and bronze. To assess the quality of the cable, you will need to understand the significance of these conductors. Further, you will also need to know a few key factors about the cable jacket and its standard compliance.
Cable Jacket
The jacket is the first component of the cable that you will notice. The finest jacket such as that of the Cat6a Plenum Solid Copper should be flexible yet durable. Meaning, that it should bend easily and also be able to withstand the uncertainties of construction sites.
It is also important for the jacket to have a smooth finish. If you are buying online, which almost everyone does now, you can ask the supplier what it is like?
Standard Compliance
On the jacket, you will also find the standards with which the cable complies.
The most important standards you should look for are the EIA/TIA. These are regulatory bodies that test and certify cables if they comply with their standards. Other standards include UL, ETL, FCC, etc.
If you want to buy products that are made in an environmentally friendly manner, ROHS is the standard you should look for.
Pure Copper Conductor
The conductor of the cable is the most important when it comes to buying the Cat6a pure copper cable. Or any ethernet cable for that matter. Because it is the primary component responsible for superior performance.
Non Oxygen: This is the purest form of copper conductor. It is exclusively melted to exclude the oxygen content in the raw element. As a result, the oxygen content in this conductor is below 0.03% which is almost nothing. This ensures a far better quality of signal transmission as compared to the others. The color of this conductor will be uniform across its length and cross-section.
Bronze: This type of pure copper conductor contains more impurities and consequently, it suffers more resistance. About 99.7% of its content is copper and the rest of the content are impurities which include oxygen. The rule of the thumb to recognize this cable is to check the color of its cross-section. The color at the core and the exterior of the conductor should be slightly different because a layer of non-oxygen copper is coated around it to enhance its performance.
Cable Shield
A shield in a cable is the metal foil or mesh that is integrated beneath the cable jacket to either deflect or absorb the electromagnetic interference (EMI) and crosstalk emitted from other cables in the vicinity.
If you spot a bulk Cat6a bare copper cable that is shielded (STP: shielded twisted pair), it is the best deal. Since the Cat6a Plenum cable solid copper is installed mostly in crowded commercial networks, the shiel will ensure a strong relay of signals without suffering EMI and various kinds of crosstalk.
However, note that the shield is not the absolute measure of the quality. The shielded cable is the best if you need it for a business network with multiple wires running in its parallel.
