Best Cat6 Pure Copper Cable and How to Buy It?

If you are buying the Cat6 pure copper cable, you better buy the best. Well, the 1000ft Cat6 pure copper cable is best most of the time. But you would still need to understand a thing or two to always buy the best 1000ft pure copper cable.

Under this one name, the category 6 cable has multiple variants. Its variants are distinguished depending on multiple factors such as shielding, solid/stranded conductor, cable jacket, etc. If these specifications are different, the cable will also perform differently.

So how do you determine which variant of the Cat6 copper cable will perform in which way? Let’s find out in this blog.

What is Cat6 Pure Copper Cable?

The Cat6 pure copper cable features 4 twisted pairs of bare copper conductors. The conductor pairs are the main part of the cable which has a 23 AWG diameter.

These are quite thick and can transmit signals at a high speed. The speed and bandwidth capacity of the cable is 1 GBit/s and 550 MHz, respectively. The speed of the cable is gigabit over 100 meters which can reach up to 10 GBit/s over 50 meters.

Now, the cable comes with two types of conductors. Solid and Stranded. Cat6 cable with solid pure copper conductors is ideal for outdoor runs. In these outdoor runs, solid copper Cat6 keeps the signal integrity intact and it is also easier to install.

The same is true for the stranded cable in indoor runs. However, the stranded cable is more susceptible to crosstalk.

Cat6 Bare Copper Jackets

The bare copper Cat6 cable 1000ft has two types of jackets. Plenum and riser. Although the cable comes with another jacket called PVC because it is not up to par with the legal safety standards, it is disregarded as an option. We would strongly not discourage you from buying this cable.

The Cat6 cable with the plenum jacket is used in indoor runs where air circulates freely. In such spaces, if any fire breaks out, the cable jacket must not emit toxic smoke. And this is what the cable is designed for. Its LSZH materials ensure that in the event of a fire, the cable jacket will not emit toxic smoke. It will also prevent the flame from propagating along the cable jacket.

The other jacket of the Cat6 cable is the riser jacket. It is made from fluorinated ethylene polymers (FEP). These materials are highly resistant to heat and ensure that the cable will not catch fire. To top things off, riser-rated jackets come with a fire-retardant coating. This coating is pivotal in containing any fire that may outbreak in a network or a building.

Shielded/Unshielded Cat6 Pure Copper

The shielded Cat6 pure copper cable and unshielded pure copper cables are quite different from one another. The shielding is key to ensuring an interference-free signal transmission.

But it is also important to note that the unshielded Cat6 pure copper cable is also fairly tolerant to interference. Just not as good as the shield. Although the twisted pair of conductors do suppress EMI.

Cat6 Pure Copper Cable Variants

The Cat6 pure copper cable can be assembled in so many different ways. The number of variables that can be changed to produce a different variant is more than 3 and the total number of variants is more than 10.

Given below are some of the basic ones which can be reassembled to produce other variants.

Cat6 F/UTP Pure Copper

This variant of the bare copper Cat6 cable has a foil or mesh around the overall conductor pair bunch but not around the individual pairs.

Cat6 UTP Pure Copper

This is the unshielded Cat6 pure copper cable and it is only dependent on its twisted pairs to protect against interference.

Cat6 STP Pure Copper

This variant of the cable is shielded both around the individual conductors and around the overall conductor bunch.

Note: it is pertinent to mention here that the above-mentioned Cat6 variants are also available in two types of jackets which makes the number of variants of this cable more than 8.

Which Cat6 Do I Need?

Which Cat6 pure copper cable you need depends on the type of network you have. Is it a residential network or a commercial one? If it is a residential network, is it crowded? If so, you will need the Shielded Cat6. otherwise, the unshielded Cat6 will suffice for a home/residential network.

Where to Buy?

You can buy the cable online or at your nearest store. Just be sure to check that the cable has 23 AWG pure copper conductors.