What is the Maximum Distance of UTP Cable?

Answer: The maximum distance for Unshielded Twisted Pair cable is 100 meters (328 feet) for most common Ethernet applications such as 10/100/1000BASE-T.

Categories of UTP Cable

UTP data cables have been categorized according to their performance ratings with Category 5e (Cat5e), Category 6 (Cat6), and Category 6a (Cat6a) being the most prevalently used, and these include also modern networking fields. Every one of the categories carries maximum distance capacities by means of diameter of wire gauges, twists per inch and quality designs.

Maximum Distance of UTP Cables by Category

1. Cat5e: This Cat5e UTP cable category can carry data speeds up to 1000 Mbps (Mbit per second) with a 100-meter (328-feet) maximum cable length.
2. Cat6: It performs better than a Cat5e regarding cable receiving data rates of up to 10Gpbs, it can be usable over short distance. The Cat6 cable length inclusive of patch cables is 100 meters. It is clearly superior in performance due to the excellence in the quality and the less interference.
3. Cat6a: Unlike Cat 6 cables, Cat6a cables can operate at 10 Gigabits per second up to 100 meters’ distance. Besides, Cat6a cables satisfy more stringent specifications to prevent crosstalk and interference thus can be used in more complicated networking conditions.