Cat6 vs Fiber, What is the Difference and How to Choose?

Cat6, the most widely used Ethernet cable category, is cost-effective and reliable. Fiber cables, the best performance cable, are gaining popularity. So, it is inevitable that some people will compare the two to determine which is more advantageous in cabling. This article will provide a detailed description of fiber vs Cat6 cables to help you understand the advantages of each.

What is cat6?

Cat6 is the abbreviation for Category 6 network cable. Its previous category was known as Cat5e cable. Compared to Cat5e, Cat6 increased the cross-bone plastic core and used thicker plastic cladding. The increased plastic core isolates the crosstalk between the internal pairs, and the thicker plastic cladding is more resistant to external EMI interference.

This category of copper cable has superior performance. Its maximum transmission rate is 10Gbps, 10 times the rate of Cat5e. With the same kind of shielding, the Cat6 cable costs only about 30% more than the Cat5e cable.

Based on the above, cat6 cable is the most cost-effective for today’s Gigabit network conditions.

What is fiber?

Fiber optic cables have a core made of glass or plastic and are naturally resistant to electromagnetic interference. Compared to copper cables, fiber optic cables are smaller and lighter. Fiber optic cables have superior data transfer speeds because data signals are transmitted as light pulses in fiber optic cables. Most importantly, fiber optic cables can run over long distances, such as several and tens of kilometers. In contrast, copper cables are limited to a maximum transmission distance of 100m.

Cat6 vs. Fiber: What is the Difference?

Transmission Distance

Single-mode fiber optics at 1Gps rate has a maximum transmission distance of 180km, compared to Cat6 cable, which has a maximum transmission distance of 100m at 1GBPS.

Transmission Rate

Cat6 cable has a maximum transmission rate of 10Gbps, compared to 40Gbps or even 80Gbps for fiber optic cable.

Cost

Overall, fiber optic cables are more expensive than cables because they are made with more precision. On our official website, the price of a 100 m single-mode fiber patch cable is about two times that of a 100 m Cat6 network patch cable. The cost of multi-mode fiber optic patch cords will be even more expensive.

Future-proof

At the moment, cat6 cable technology is not going to be upgraded any further, and the transmission speed is not going to be increased unless, of course, you choose a higher category of cable, such as cat7, cat7a, or cat8. According to today’s trend of network transmission speeds, cat6 cables will not be able to meet the demand for higher speeds in the future.

Anti-interference

Electrons in the flow of copper, a type of metal conductor, will generate electromagnetic fields susceptible to external electromagnetic field interference. Even a shielded CAT6 cable is rugged enough to shield electromagnetic interference completely. In contrast, optical fiber uses the principle of total reflection of light to transmit signals without the influence of electromagnetic interference.

Cat6 vs. Fiber: How to Choose?

If your home only needs gigabit speed and your budget is limited, then cat6 cable will be the best choice. However, fiber optic cable is the future trend. Fiber optic cable will be more suitable if you want higher-speed internet and the laying distance is farther.

FAQ

Q. What are the other types of copper cables besides cat6, and how do they perform?

A. You can read our previous article, “Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a, Cat7, Cat7a vs Cat8 Cable, What is the difference?” to learn their detailed information. The following summary table to help you get a general understanding of the performance of various types of copper cable:

Category	Cat5	Cat5e	Cat6	Cat6A	Cat7	Cat7a	Cat8
Standard Bandwidth	100MHz (up to 350)	100MHz (up to 350)	250MHz (up to 550)	500MHz (up to 550)	600MHz	1000MHz	2000MHz
Max Data Rate	100Mbps	1000Mbps	10Gbps	10Gbps	10Gbps	10Gbps	25Gbps/40Gbps
Shielding Type	UTP or STP	UTP or STP	UTP or STP	UTP or STP	Shielded only	Shielded only	Shielded only
Max. Cable Length	100m	100m	100m(or 50m at 10Gbps)	100m	100m(or 50m at 40Gbps)	100m	100m at under 25Gbps(or 30m at 25/40Gbps)

Q. Is cat6 an Ethernet cable?

A. In fact, both fiber optic and copper cables are Ethernet cables. Cat6 is a type of copper cable. However, most people prefer to call copper cable a network cable or Ethernet cable. Then, fiber optic cables are distinguished separately.

Q. Which has lower latency, fiber or cat6?

A. Fiber optic has lower latency. Within 100 meters, the fiber optic and cat6 latency is almost identical, and you can hardly feel the apparent difference. But more than 100m, cat6 with the increase in transmission distance, the delay may continue to rise, at this time, the low latency advantage of optical fiber will be more obvious.

Q. Which is more difficult to install: wiring, cat6, or fiber?

A. They both need to plan the layout. However, fiber optics is more fragile and requires more care during installation. When installing cat6, technicians generally use ordinary crimping tools. When installing fiber optics, the cutting and fusion splicing of the light requires specialized equipment and a more complicated process.

Q. What are the types of optical fibers?

A. Optical fiber can be divided into quartz and plastic fibers according to the material. For information, read our article “Glass Optical Fiber vs Plastic Optical Fiber: A Beginner Guide”. Similarly, according to the transmission mode, optical fiber can be divided into single-mode and multi-mode fiber. For more information, read our article “Single Mode vs Multimode Fiber, What is the Difference?”.

Conclusion

By reading this article, I believe you have a deeper understanding of fiber optic and cat6 cable. I hope you can choose the right cable according to its characteristics. In addition, I believe that in the future, as fiber optic technology continues to mature and the scale of fiber optic cable coverage continues to expand, the price of fiber optic cable will be lower. But for now, cat6 cable is still the most cost-effective and widely used cabling cable for gigabit networks.