The Future Arrives in 2017: Cat. 8 Wiring

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Category 8 wiring is an economical solution to serve data hubs’ ever-expanding need for higher bandwidth.

kelley communications cat 8 wiring

The standards for the next generation of data cabling—Cat. 8—were approved by The Telecommunications Industry Association’s TR-42 Telecommunications Cabling Systems Engineering Committee in June 2016, with ratification expected in early 2017.

Conveniently keeping the same maximum diameter as category 6A cable at 22 AWG, Cat. 8 will not only be fully backwards compatible with Cat. 6A, Cat. 6, and Cat. 5e, but, being specified to 2 GHz, can provide four times today’s bandwidth by using a frequency of 2000 MHz, limited to a 30 meter 2 connector channel.

This service life span of category 8, like the earlier categories remains at 20 years, making Cat. 8 the highest performing cable available. This is a logical choice for new installations and cabling upgrades that are future-proofed, meaning that as your equipment is upgraded, your budget will not have to take  new cabling under consideration.

Category 8 wiring will not need more power to operate, and could actually be more efficient in supporting remote powering applications, such as an Ethernet setup.

To learn more about Cat. 8 cabling and see if it’s right for your business, give Kelley Communications a call today at (414) 727-7070.