Which type of UTP cable should be used – CAT6 or CAT5e?
Basically it’s a trade-off between cost and speed. In either instance, cost is a factor. CAT 6 cable has become the standard. It is slightly more expensive than Cat5e. Additionally, the cost of CAT6 connector components is a bit more and the labor to properly terminate CAT6 is slightly longer. However, data rates tend to increase regularly and can be expected to do so in the future as streaming media applications such as video and multi-media become commonplace. Demand for faster data rates will increase and spawn new applications that will benefit from the higher bandwidth offered by Category 6. For “future proofing”, it is better to install the best cabling available because it is difficult to replace installed cabling inside walls, in ducts under floors. It is thought that cabling will last at least 10 years and support multiple generations of equipment during that time. If future equipment running at much higher data rates requires better cabling, it will be very expensive to pull
