Category Cables CAT 6A Plenum

Summary: Category Cables CAT 6A Plenum

Category Cables CAT 6A Plenum

Windy City Wire manufactures low-voltage SmartWire® Category Cable for commercial and industrial environments where performance, safety, and installation efficiency matter. Our CAT 6A Plenum offering is designed for 10 Gigabit applications across enterprise networks, healthcare, education, government, manufacturing, and mission-critical facilities. If you are an integrator, contractor, or distributor planning a refresh or expansion, this CAT 6A solution supports your network planning goals by delivering consistent throughput and headroom for current and future network capacity.

Why CAT 6A Plenum from Windy City Wire

• Category 6A performance for 10GBASE-T up to 100 meters, supporting modern applications, PoE/PoE+/4PPoE, and dense wireless deployments.
• Plenum (CMP) rated construction for use in environmental air spaces, meeting stringent safety requirements.
• Available in Shielded and Non-Shielded constructions to address both high-EMI and general-purpose LAN environments.
• 23 AWG, 4-pair bare copper conductors to help minimize DC resistance and support power delivery on network cables.
• Lengths available: 1000 FT, 500 FT, and 250 FT to align with project needs and reduce material waste.
• Jacket colors available: Black and Orange; custom jacket and stripe color options are available to standardize your installations.

SmartWire Advantages for Installers

• SmartWire Glide lubrication is applied to the cable jacket during manufacturing and reduces pull friction by up to 70%, helping crews pull faster with fewer reworks and less conduit stress.
• FastFIND Footage Markers appear every two feet to simplify distance measurements, verify received footage, and help reduce scrap by an estimated 15–25% across projects.
• SmartWire cable is part of our complete field systems solution designed to improve safety and efficiency and lower labor costs on every job.

Built for Real-World Applications

• High-density wireless: Ideal backhaul for Wi‑Fi 6/6E/7 access points where cat 6a cabling helps ensure consistent power and data throughput.
• IP endpoints: Cameras, access control, AV, and building automation systems benefitting from stable 10G links and robust PoE performance.
• Electrically noisy spaces: Shielded options help mitigate EMI/RFI in manufacturing areas, hospitals, labs, and data center whitespace.

Plan Today for Tomorrow’s Network Capacity

Choosing CAT 6A Plenum for new construction and upgrades makes network planning more predictable. It provides a longer lifecycle for horizontal cabling, supports higher utilization of PoE, and provides the runway many teams need for higher-bandwidth applications without immediate recabling. If you are reviewing Category Cable for a multi-phase rollout, standardizing on CAT 6A helps simplify specification, procurement, and installation across all phases.

Available Constructions

• 23 AWG 4 Pair Solid Bare Copper CMP Plenum 300V: Unshielded Category 6A for general-purpose LANs and PoE runs up to 100 m, balancing performance and flexibility.
• 23 AWG 4 Pair Solid Bare Copper Shielded CMP Plenum 300V: Shielded Category 6A that helps control external noise and crosstalk in high-EMI environments and long parallel runs.

How We Support Integrators, Contractors, and Distributors

• Direct partnership model focused on commercial and industrial projects, not consumer sales.
• Consistent, U.S.-manufactured SmartWire supply with options to standardize colors and stripes across job sites.
• Tools and documentation to streamline submittals and simplify the transition to higher-performance network cables.

Summary: Value for Your Next Project

Windy City Wire’s CAT 6A Plenum SmartWire provides reliable 10G performance, installer-friendly features, and materials alignment for complex rollouts. Whether you’re upgrading a campus, outfitting a new facility, or expanding building systems, our Category Cable options give your team a dependable foundation for bandwidth, power delivery, and long-term network capacity—backed by a partner dedicated to integrators, contractors, and distributors. Contact our team to discuss specifications, shielding selection, and how to standardize cat 6a cabling across your next deployment.

Solutions: Category Cables CAT 6A Plenum

Category Cables CAT 6A Plenum for Professional Low-Voltage Projects

Windy City Wire’s Category Cables CAT 6A Plenum are built for the demands of commercial and industrial environments. Designed for professional integrators, electrical contractors, and low-voltage distributors, this Category Cable family supports 10GBASE‑T performance across full channel lengths and provides the flexibility to meet diverse building systems and code requirements. If you are expanding network capacity, rolling out PoE devices, or standardizing on cat 6a cabling for long‑term network planning, this series offers a dependable foundation.

Where CAT 6A Plenum Fits

• Enterprise LAN and Wi‑Fi 6/6E/7 – Connect switches, patch panels, and high‑density access points for reliable 10 GbE and multi‑gig backhaul.
• Power over Ethernet (PoE/PoE+/PoE++) – Support cameras, access points, VoIP, intercoms, LED lighting, occupancy sensors, and other smart building endpoints using 4‑pair PoE up to 90 W.
• Security Systems – IP video surveillance, access control, intrusion panels, and door hardware that rely on stable, noise‑resilient network cables.
• AV over IP and Pro AV – Distribute audio, video, and control for conference rooms, classrooms, digital signage, and streaming encoders/decoders.
• Building Automation (BAS/BMS) – BACnet/IP, Modbus TCP, and MQTT sensors/actuators for HVAC, lighting control, and energy management.
• Healthcare, Education, and Government – Support nurse call over IP, RTLS, patient infotainment, e‑learning labs, testing centers, and secure workspaces.
• Industrial and Manufacturing – Industrial Ethernet, machine vision, and SCADA where robust connectivity and precise device timing are essential.
• Hospitality, Retail, and Venues – Guest Wi‑Fi, IPTV, POS terminals, kiosks, digital menu boards, and high‑density camera deployments.
• Data Centers and IDFs – 10GBASE‑T runs from MDF to IDF and cabinet drops; supports MPTL approaches for direct‑attach endpoints when specified.

CAT 6A Plenum Performance in Demanding Spaces

• Plenum‑rated jacket for air‑handling spaces supports code compliance throughout corporate offices, schools, healthcare, and public buildings.
• 10 Gigabit throughput across typical horizontal runs, helping future‑proof network capacity for bandwidth‑intensive applications.
• Solid bare copper conductors (4‑pair) provide stable transmission, lower DC resistance, and improved thermal performance for high‑power PoE budgets.

Shielding Options to Match the Environment

• Unshielded (U/UTP) – The everyday choice for offices, schools, and hospitality where EMI is controlled; supports fast terminations and flexible routing.
• Shielded (F/UTP) – Recommended near motors, generators, elevators, MRI rooms, or dense cable trays where electromagnetic noise is a factor. Helps reduce external interference and alien crosstalk in challenging pathways.

Choosing between unshielded and shielded constructions is an important part of network planning. Consider pathway proximity to electrical systems, bonding/grounding practices, and device sensitivity when specifying the cable.

Installer‑Focused Details

• Consistent round OD (approximately 0.300 inch) supports predictable conduit fill and bend‑radius calculations.
• Standard pair color code streamlines terminations in jacks, patch panels, and field‑terminated plugs.
• Jacket color options in Black or Orange can be used to distinguish networks, security segments, or PoE lighting zones at a glance.
• Length options include 1000 FT standard, with 500 FT and 250 FT options available to help reduce waste on smaller projects or device‑drop bundles.

Powering Devices Over Category Cable

With solid copper conductors and balanced twisted pairs, this cat 6a cabling supports high‑power PoE devices while helping manage heat rise in bundles. For dense PoE deployments, review pathway fill, ambient temperature, bundling size, and installation environment to maintain performance and ensure long‑term reliability.

Integration Notes

• Compatible with structured cabling hardware including patch panels, keystone jacks, consolidation points, and field‑terminated plugs used for MPTL where permitted.
• Supports current enterprise standards for 10GBASE‑T and common AV‑over‑IP transports that rely on stable 10 GbE links.
• Well‑suited to segmented networks where color‑coded jackets and labeling practices help simplify moves, adds, and changes.

Quick Spec Highlights

• Category Cable rated to Category 6A performance
• 4‑pair solid bare copper conductors
• Plenum (CMP) jacket for air‑handling spaces
• Available in Non‑Shielded and Shielded constructions
• Jacket colors: Black or Orange
• Available lengths: 1000 FT, 500 FT, 250 FT

Plan for Today’s Requirements and Tomorrow’s Growth

As you design or upgrade infrastructure, these network cables provide a dependable platform for current traffic and future services. Whether you are increasing network capacity for Wi‑Fi densification, deploying PoE lighting, or converging building systems onto a single IP backbone, our CAT 6A Plenum solutions help simplify specification and installation across multiple sites and verticals.

Partner With Windy City Wire

We work directly with integrators, contractors, and distributors to support takeoffs, specifications, and project rollouts. Connect with us to review drawings, confirm pathway counts, and align cable selections with your network planning goals across security, AV, IT, and building automation.

Ready to build a consistent, high‑performance low‑voltage platform? Our CAT 6A Plenum Category Cable helps streamline your next project from the MDF to the last device drop.

Frequently Asked Questions: Category Cables CAT 6A Plenum

• What AWG conductors are available with these SmartWire Category CAT 6A Plenum cables?

  These SmartWire Category Cable CAT 6A Plenum products are available in 23 AWG, 4-pair bare copper constructions. Options include both non-shielded and shielded plenum designs to match your network planning needs.

• What other colors are these SmartWire Category CAT 6A Plenum cables available in?

  Available jacket/stripe combinations include: White-Blue/Blue, White-Orange/Orange, White-Green/Green, and White-Brown/Brown. SmartWire can also be made in custom jacket and stripe colors to standardize your installations and help identify network cables in the field.

• Are these SmartWire Category CAT 6A Plenum cables made with solid or stranded copper conductors?

  They are made with solid bare copper conductors, ideal for permanent in‑building runs where stable performance and maximum network capacity are required.

• What lengths are these SmartWire Category CAT 6A Plenum cables sold in?

  Windy City Wire manufactures and stocks SmartWire Category Cable in a standard 1,000 ft length. Additional lengths of 500 ft and 250 ft are also available on select items. For faster installs, SmartWire includes FastFIND Footage Markers every two feet, making it easy to measure pulls, verify remaining footage, and reduce waste on cat 6a cabling jobs.

• How is your SmartWire low-voltage Category Cable sold — on spools or in boxes?

  Our SmartWire Category Cable is packaged in our patented RackPack carton to maximize labor savings and efficiency as part of the complete RackPack Field Systems Solution. Learn more about our RackPack: https://windycitywire.com/solutions/rackpack-overview

• What are the main differences between CAT5e, CAT6, CAT6A, and CAT7 cables?

  - CAT5e: Up to 1 Gbps and 100 MHz to 100 m; suitable for basic data and voice network cables.
  - CAT6: 1 Gbps to 100 m; can support 10 Gbps up to about 37–55 m; 250 MHz bandwidth; improved crosstalk control.
  - CAT6A: 10 Gbps to 100 m; 500 MHz bandwidth with better alien crosstalk mitigation; the mainstream choice for scalable network capacity in commercial spaces.
  - CAT7: ISO/IEC class F cabling, typically fully shielded; 10 Gbps to 100 m with 600–1000 MHz bandwidth (varies by spec); often uses non‑RJ45 connectors (e.g., GG45/TERA). In many North American deployments, CAT6A is preferred for broad compatibility and cost-effective performance.

• What are some popular Category Cable colors and what do they stand for?

  While color meanings vary by organization, common conventions include:
  - Blue: General data drops
  - Gray/White: Standard office or horizontal cabling
  - Red: Critical systems, secure VLANs, or emergency circuits
  - Yellow: PoE devices or cameras
  - Green: Management networks or crossover (legacy convention)
  - Orange: Demarc/ISP handoff or special services
  - Purple: VoIP/telephony
  To simplify network planning, many teams standardize colors across sites. SmartWire also offers custom jacket and stripe options to align with your Category Cable color code strategy.

Additional Links:

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