Copper: Cat6 vs Cat6A
Cat6 supports 1 Gbps at 100m and 10 Gbps up to about 55m. It's still the right call for short residential runs and budget commercial fit-outs where 10G isn't on the roadmap.
Cat6A supports 10 Gbps over the full 100m, has better shielding for noisy electrical environments, and is what we install by default on any commercial fit-out we expect to be in service for 5+ years. The cost uplift over Cat6 is small relative to the labour, and it future-proofs the cabling against the next round of switch upgrades.
When fibre is the only correct answer
Inter-building runs over more than ~90m — copper simply can't carry the signal and is dangerous to run between separately-earthed buildings.
Sites with heavy three-phase or industrial machinery generating EMI — fibre is immune to electrical noise.
Backbone links between switches in large buildings, where 10G+ aggregation matters more than the individual port speed.
How we usually combine them
A typical Pro-Spec commercial build runs single-mode fibre as the backbone (between buildings, and from the main comms room to each floor's IDF), with Cat6A horizontal cabling from each IDF to the workstation. That gives you cheap, easy-to-terminate copper at the edge, and bulletproof high-speed fibre as the spine.
Side-by-side comparison
| Cat6 / Cat6A | Single-mode fibre | |
|---|---|---|
| Max practical run | 100m | 10+ km |
| Max speed | 10 Gbps (Cat6A) | 100+ Gbps with right optics |
| PoE delivery | Yes — up to 90W (PoE++) | No (data only) |
| EMI immunity | Limited (better with Cat6A shielded) | Total |
| Inter-building | Not safe | Required |
| Cost per metre | Low | Higher, plus termination cost |
FAQ
Can fibre carry PoE?+
No — fibre is data-only. PoE devices (cameras, access points, door readers) need copper for the final link, or a separate local power supply.
Is Cat6A really worth the cost?+
On any commercial fit-out, yes. The cable cost is a small fraction of the labour, and Cat6A protects against the next switch upgrade.
Do you certify the cabling?+
Every commercial run is tested and certified with a per-port test report. We hand over the results as part of the project documentation.