We live in a fast world. We want speed, in our cars, in the drive through, when your in line at the bank on a payday Friday, we just want it faster. Data communications is on the bleeding edge of this pursuit of speed. Having been in the industry for over 10 years, I have seen the data world transition from the Coax world, thin net, thick net, IBM type 1 and 2 and then back to twisted pair, Category 3, the short lived Cat4, then on to Cat 5, Cat5 enhanced and then Cat 6. Not to mention the transition to fiber optic media. If you wait a year, someone will come out with some type of media that will increase your network speed. And don't get me started on wireless.
I have been working on a small project, 100 or so voice/data jacks in a remodeled building. As a test sight, we are installing the new Category 6 Augmented cable for both applications. The cable is much thicker that a standard 5e cable and only available on reels as of now. It is a pain to install because of the size and it's tendency to kink with the plenum jacket. The specs for the cable solution claim that it will transmit 10 Gigabits of data over the 4 pair UTP cable. We will be testing it after the holidays and I am anxious to see the results. Is anyone going to be transmitting 10 Gigabits over copper in this building? No, not for the foreseeable future. A 10 Gig NIC would run just under 1,000 dollars and I don't want to think of what a Cisco 10 Gig 48 port switch would cost. I can see this application in a server room or as a short distance backbone, but does this really need to be installed at the horizontal level? Everyone talks about future proofing their cable plant, Cat6A should do it. I just think by the time end users are actually needing a 10 Gig solution someone will have figured out how to run through the fibers in the carpet or though the electrical plugs!
Hey, what do I know, I just a cowboy who installs the stuff?
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