Cabling

CAT5e vs CAT6 vs CAT7: Choosing the Right Network Cabling for Your Office

Every network, phone system, camera, and WiFi access point in your building ultimately depends on the cable in the walls. Choose well and the wiring outlives three generations of equipment; choose poorly and you'll be cutting drywall in five years. Here's how the standards compare in practice.

CAT5e: the budget workhorse

CAT5e reliably delivers 1 Gbps up to 100 meters, which still covers basic office needs — desk phones, workstations, printers. It's the cheapest option, and plenty of existing buildings run happily on it. But for new installations, the small savings rarely justify the shorter runway.

CAT6: today's standard for good reason

CAT6 handles 1 Gbps at full distance and 10 Gbps up to about 55 meters, with tighter construction that resists interference — important in buildings full of electrical noise. For most offices, CAT6 is the sweet spot: modest cost premium, decade-plus of headroom, and full support for Power over Ethernet devices like VoIP phones, Ubiquiti access points, and IP cameras.

CAT6a and CAT7: for the heavy lifters

CAT6a carries 10 Gbps the full 100 meters. CAT7 adds heavier shielding for electrically noisy environments like manufacturing floors, and supports high-bandwidth backbone runs. These make sense for server rooms, camera-dense deployments, medical imaging, and anywhere you expect serious data growth.

What matters as much as the cable

• Installation quality: a poorly terminated CAT6 run performs worse than a well-terminated CAT5e run. Certification testing proves every jack.
• Labeling and documentation: unlabeled cabling costs you money on every future service call.
• Pathways and support: cable draped over ceiling tiles and light fixtures fails inspections and degrades performance.
• PoE planning: phones, cameras, access points, and door controllers all draw power over the cable — your cabling and switches must be planned together.

Our recommendation

For most new office installs: CAT6 to the desks, CAT6a to access points, cameras, and equipment rooms. For warehouses and industrial spaces, shielded cable earns its keep. The right answer for your building depends on distances, device counts, and growth plans — which is exactly what a free site survey figures out before anyone quotes you a number.